Jackson → Iowa City
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Jackson to Iowa City is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 85.5 to 91.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $119/mo.
- +$8,563
- BLS median salary higher in Iowa City
- 602 to 238
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.3:1 to 14.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $446
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Iowa City
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
- + $119/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + $9K higher median salary
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 6% higher cost of living
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 85.5 to 91.5, so the same paycheck buys less in Iowa City (ratio 1.07). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $119/mo ($1,428/yr) from $1,260 in Jackson to $1,141 in Iowa City.
Iowa City leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Iowa City sits #59 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Jackson is #175/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $8,563 higher ($58,189 → $66,752). Labor-market size: 78,140 tracked jobs at origin vs 83,600 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Tennessee 66 (C, #17/51) vs Iowa 70 (B, #8/51). 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 36
- Income tax
- 85
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 42
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 Jackson to see what you'd need to earn in Iowa City 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