Ithaca → Fond du Lac
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Ithaca to Fond du Lac is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.3 to 91.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $577/mo.
- -$12,293
- BLS median salary lower in Fond du Lac
- 380 to 280
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 to 14.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $2,613
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Fond du Lac
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
- + 12% lower cost of living
- + $577/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $12K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 103.3 to 91.6, so each dollar covers more in Fond du Lac (ratio 0.89). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $577/mo ($6,924/yr) from $1,753 in Ithaca to $1,176 in Fond du Lac.
Fond du Lac leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Fond du Lac sits #30 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Ithaca is #240/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $12,293 lower ($75,348 → $63,055). Labor-market size: 39,380 tracked jobs at origin vs 37,390 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Wisconsin scores 57 (D, #32/51) 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
- 62
- Property tax
- 56
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 40
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 Fond du Lac to maintain the same purchasing power.
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