Memphis → Champaign-Urbana
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Memphis to Champaign-Urbana is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 92.2 to 92.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $152/mo.
- +$1,834
- BLS median salary higher in Champaign-Urbana
- 602 to 277
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.3:1 to 14:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,397
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Champaign-Urbana
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
- + $152/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - More expensive childcare
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 92.2 to 92.7 (ratio 1.01), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $152/mo ($1,824/yr) from $1,274 in Memphis to $1,122 in Champaign-Urbana.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Champaign-Urbana sits #65 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Memphis is #300/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,834 higher ($65,102 → $66,936). Labor-market size: 597,090 tracked jobs at origin vs 94,460 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Tennessee scores 66 (C, #17/51) 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 36
- Income tax
- 95
- Property tax
- 46
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 46
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 Memphis to see what you'd need to earn in Champaign-Urbana to maintain the same purchasing power.
Champaign-Urbana 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