Lima → Bismarck

Moving from Lima to Bismarck shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 89.7 to 91.0 (100 = US average), so a Lima salary needs to be multiplied by 1.02 to hold the same purchasing power in Bismarck. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,108/month in Lima to $1,175/month in Bismarck - a higher monthly bill of $67, or $804/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 $61,326 in Lima versus $70,851 in Bismarck - a raw gap of $9,525 higher. The Bismarck labor market has 64,970 tracked jobs against 43,810 in Lima, 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 Lima and Bismarck are 293 and 257 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 18.2:1 at origin versus 11.8:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $11,791/year in Lima versus $10,925/year in Bismarck. Our composite verdict - Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.