Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 114.2 to 103.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $402/mo.

+$5,151
BLS median salary higher in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
210 to 395
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
17.8:1 to 14.7:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$2,939
DOL infant care lower / yr in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

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.

Verdict
Strongly Favorable
Cost Index: 114.2 → 103.1
Rent Delta: -$402/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + 11% lower cost of living
  • + $402/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + $5K higher median salary
  • + Better student-teacher ratios
  • + More affordable childcare

Cons of Moving

  • - Higher violent crime rate
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 114.2 to 103.1, so each dollar covers more in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (ratio 0.90). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $402/mo ($4,824/yr) from $2,333 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach to $1,931 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington sits #351 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach is #361/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,151 higher ($68,325 → $73,476). Labor-market size: 2,720,630 tracked jobs at origin vs 4,019,090 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Florida 62 (C, #23/51) vs Texas 65 (C, #19/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 114.2
RPP 103.1
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Rent (2BR)
$2,333/mo
$1,931/mo
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Wages
$68,325
$73,476
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Crime
210 per 100K
395 per 100K
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
Schools
17.8:1
14.7:1
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Childcare
$10,505/yr
$7,566/yr
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Environment
2736 violations
35693 violations
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Florida
62 C #23/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
67
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
12
Destination state · Texas
65 C #19/51
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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach to see what you'd need to earn in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
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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