Merced → Billings
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Merced to Billings is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.3 to 93.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $86/mo.
- -$4,527
- BLS median salary lower in Billings
- 477 to 426
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 21.5:1 to 11.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $6,454
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Billings
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
- + 5% lower cost of living
- + $86/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $5K lower median salary
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 98.3 to 93.5 (ratio 0.95), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $86/mo ($1,032/yr) from $1,503 in Merced to $1,417 in Billings.
Billings leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Billings sits #188 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (middle third). Merced is #370/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,527 lower ($68,749 → $64,222). Labor-market size: 72,870 tracked jobs at origin vs 86,460 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Montana scores 53 (D, #38/51) vs California at 40 (F, #50/51). 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
- 70
- Property tax
- 72
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 4
- 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 Merced to see what you'd need to earn in Billings 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