Johnson City → Decatur
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Johnson City to Decatur is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 87.9 to 88.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $69/mo.
- +$8,746
- BLS median salary higher in Decatur
- 602 to 277
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.3:1 to 14:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,397
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Decatur
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
- + $69/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + $9K higher median salary
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - More expensive childcare
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 87.9 to 88.4 (ratio 1.01), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $69/mo ($828/yr) from $1,132 in Johnson City to $1,063 in Decatur.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Decatur sits #27 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Johnson City is #249/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $8,746 higher ($57,056 → $65,802). Labor-market size: 74,580 tracked jobs at origin vs 36,440 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Tennessee scores 66 (C, #17/51) vs Illinois at 58 (D, #31/51). 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
- 95
- Property tax
- 46
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 46
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 Johnson City to see what you'd need to earn in Decatur 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