Lebanon → Helena

Moving from Lebanon to Helena shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 93.2 to 95.7 (100 = US average), so a Lebanon salary needs to be multiplied by 1.03 to hold the same purchasing power in Helena. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,411/month in Lebanon to $1,748/month in Helena - a higher monthly bill of $337, or $4,044/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.

Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $60,558 in Lebanon versus $66,812 in Helena - a raw gap of $6,254 higher. The Helena labor market has 38,620 tracked jobs against 46,280 in Lebanon, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.

Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Lebanon and Helena are 250 and 426 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 13.6:1 at origin versus 11.8:1 at destination. Our composite verdict - Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.