Longview-Kelso → Iowa City

Moving from Longview-Kelso to Iowa City shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 97.5 to 91.5 (100 = US average), so a Longview-Kelso salary needs to be multiplied by 0.94 to hold the same purchasing power in Iowa City. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,451/month in Longview-Kelso to $1,141/month in Iowa City - a lower monthly bill of $310, or $3,720/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 $72,685 in Longview-Kelso versus $66,752 in Iowa City - a raw gap of $5,933 lower. The Iowa City labor market has 83,600 tracked jobs against 34,650 in Longview-Kelso, 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 Longview-Kelso and Iowa City are 329 and 238 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 17.6:1 at origin versus 14.8:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $15,987/year in Longview-Kelso versus $8,306/year in Iowa City. Our composite verdict - Strongly Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.