Kankakee → Charleston-North Charleston
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Kankakee to Charleston-North Charleston is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 96.4 to 101.0 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $461/mo.
- +$6,145
- BLS median salary higher in Charleston-North Charleston
- 277 to 439
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14:1 to 14.3:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,525
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Charleston-North Charleston
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
- + $6K higher median salary
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 5% higher cost of living
- - $461/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 96.4 to 101.0 (ratio 1.05), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $461/mo ($5,532/yr) from $1,326 in Kankakee to $1,787 in Charleston-North Charleston.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Charleston-North Charleston sits #100 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Kankakee is #292/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $6,145 higher ($61,541 → $67,686). Labor-market size: 36,680 tracked jobs at origin vs 381,130 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: South Carolina scores 80 (A, #3/51) 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
- 95
- Property tax
- 46
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 46
- Income tax
- 85
- Property tax
- 87
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 56
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 Kankakee to see what you'd need to earn in Charleston-North Charleston to maintain the same purchasing power.
Charleston-North Charleston 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