Iowa City → Longview-Kelso

Moving from Iowa City to Longview-Kelso shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 91.5 to 97.5 (100 = US average), so a Iowa City salary needs to be multiplied by 1.07 to hold the same purchasing power in Longview-Kelso. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,141/month in Iowa City to $1,451/month in Longview-Kelso - a higher monthly bill of $310, or $3,720/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 $72,685 in Longview-Kelso - a raw gap of $5,933 higher. The Longview-Kelso labor market has 34,650 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 Longview-Kelso are 238 and 329 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.8:1 at origin versus 17.6:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $8,306/year in Iowa City versus $15,987/year in Longview-Kelso. Our composite verdict - Unfavorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.