Ithaca → Florence-Muscle Shoals
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Ithaca to Florence-Muscle Shoals is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.3 to 84.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $753/mo.
- -$20,457
- BLS median salary lower in Florence-Muscle Shoals
- 380 to 376
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 to 17.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $6,973
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Florence-Muscle Shoals
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + 18% lower cost of living
- + $753/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $20K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 103.3 to 84.8, so each dollar covers more in Florence-Muscle Shoals (ratio 0.82). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $753/mo ($9,036/yr) from $1,753 in Ithaca to $1,000 in Florence-Muscle Shoals.
Florence-Muscle Shoals leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Florence-Muscle Shoals sits #83 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Ithaca is #240/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $20,457 lower ($75,348 → $54,891). Labor-market size: 39,380 tracked jobs at origin vs 48,280 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Alabama scores 75 (B, #5/51) vs New York at 46 (F, #46/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 80
- Property tax
- 48
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 96
- Income tax
- 90
- Property tax
- 92
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 20
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Ithaca to see what you'd need to earn in Florence-Muscle Shoals to maintain the same purchasing power.
Florence-Muscle Shoals metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026