Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington → Grand Island
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington to Grand Island is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 104.8 to 86.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $494/mo.
- -$20,586
- BLS median salary lower in Grand Island
- 259 to 217
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 13.5:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,859
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Grand Island
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
- + 18% lower cost of living
- + $494/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $21K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 104.8 to 86.7, so each dollar covers more in Grand Island (ratio 0.83). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $494/mo ($5,928/yr) from $1,709 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington to $1,215 in Grand Island.
Grand Island leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Grand Island sits #14 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is #332/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $20,586 lower ($80,598 → $60,012). Labor-market size: 1,928,660 tracked jobs at origin vs 31,670 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Nebraska scores 67 (C, #16/51) vs Minnesota at 49 (F, #43/51). 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
- 60
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 34
- Income tax
- 65
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 66
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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington to see what you'd need to earn in Grand Island to maintain the same purchasing power.
Grand Island 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