Muncie → Owensboro
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Muncie to Owensboro is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 88.1 to 88.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $67/mo.
- +$972
- BLS median salary higher in Owensboro
- 308 to 225
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.9:1 to 15.2:1
- 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
- + Lower violent crime rate
Cons of Moving
- - $67/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 88.1 to 88.6 (ratio 1.01), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $67/mo ($804/yr) from $1,043 in Muncie to $1,110 in Owensboro.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Owensboro sits #106 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Muncie is #75/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $972 higher ($58,609 → $59,581). Labor-market size: 37,700 tracked jobs at origin vs 41,400 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Indiana 62 (C, #24/51) vs Kentucky 68 (C, #11/51). 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
- 72
- Property tax
- 69
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 32
- Income tax
- 72
- Property tax
- 73
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 38
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 Muncie to see what you'd need to earn in Owensboro 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