Iowa City → Grand Island

Moving from Iowa City to Grand Island shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 91.5 to 86.7 (100 = US average), so a Iowa City salary needs to be multiplied by 0.95 to hold the same purchasing power in Grand Island. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,141/month in Iowa City to $1,215/month in Grand Island - a higher monthly bill of $74, or $888/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $66,752 in Iowa City versus $60,012 in Grand Island - a raw gap of $6,740 lower. The Grand Island labor market has 31,670 tracked jobs against 83,600 in Iowa City, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Iowa City and Grand Island are 238 and 217 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.8:1 at origin versus 13.5:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $8,306/year in Iowa City versus $9,863/year in Grand Island. Our composite verdict - Less Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.