Merced → Sherman-Denison
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Merced to Sherman-Denison is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.3 to 93.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $152/mo.
- -$10,908
- BLS median salary lower in Sherman-Denison
- 477 to 395
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 21.5:1 to 14.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $10,354
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Sherman-Denison
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
- + $152/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $11K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 98.3 to 93.8 (ratio 0.95), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $152/mo ($1,824/yr) from $1,503 in Merced to $1,351 in Sherman-Denison.
Sherman-Denison leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Sherman-Denison sits #328 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Merced is #370/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $10,908 lower ($68,749 → $57,841). Labor-market size: 72,870 tracked jobs at origin vs 45,700 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Texas scores 65 (C, #19/51) 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
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 Sherman-Denison to maintain the same purchasing power.
Sherman-Denison 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