Modesto → Kokomo
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Modesto to Kokomo is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 104.1 to 89.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $635/mo.
- -$13,542
- BLS median salary lower in Kokomo
- 477 to 308
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 21.5:1 to 15.9:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
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
- + 14% lower cost of living
- + $635/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $14K lower median salary
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 104.1 to 89.6, so each dollar covers more in Kokomo (ratio 0.86). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $635/mo ($7,620/yr) from $1,758 in Modesto to $1,123 in Kokomo.
Kokomo leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Kokomo sits #112 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Modesto is #375/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $13,542 lower ($72,702 → $59,160). Labor-market size: 187,990 tracked jobs at origin vs 26,100 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Indiana scores 62 (C, #24/51) 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
- 72
- Property tax
- 69
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 32
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 Modesto to see what you'd need to earn in Kokomo 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