Madison → Missoula
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Madison to Missoula is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 97.3 to 96.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $166/mo.
- -$9,395
- BLS median salary lower in Missoula
- 280 to 426
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14.4:1 to 11.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $210
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Missoula
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
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $166/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $9K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 97.3 to 96.4 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $166/mo ($1,992/yr) from $1,195 in Madison to $1,361 in Missoula.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Missoula sits #285 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Madison is #107/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $9,395 lower ($72,527 → $63,132). Labor-market size: 399,040 tracked jobs at origin vs 60,010 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Wisconsin 57 (D, #32/51) vs Montana 53 (D, #38/51). 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
- 62
- Property tax
- 56
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 40
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 68
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 82
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 Madison to see what you'd need to earn in Missoula 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