Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach St. Joseph

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach to St. Joseph is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.6 to 86.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $388/mo.

+$2,220
BLS median salary higher in St. Joseph
439 to 463
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
14.3:1 to 12.8:1
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.

Verdict
Strongly Favorable
Cost Index: 93.6 → 86.4
Rent Delta: -$388/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + 7% lower cost of living
  • + $388/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + $2K higher median salary
  • + Better student-teacher ratios

Cons of Moving

  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 93.6 to 86.4, so each dollar covers more in St. Joseph (ratio 0.92). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $388/mo ($4,656/yr) from $1,465 in Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach to $1,077 in St. Joseph.

The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 2 origin wins); priorities decide this move. St. Joseph sits #120 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach is #103/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,220 higher ($59,331 → $61,551). Labor-market size: 135,370 tracked jobs at origin vs 49,300 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors staying put: South Carolina scores 80 (A, #3/51) vs Missouri at 68 (C, #12/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach
St. Joseph
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 93.6
RPP 86.4
St. Joseph
Rent (2BR)
$1,465/mo
$1,077/mo
St. Joseph
Wages
$59,331
$61,551
St. Joseph
Crime
439 per 100K
463 per 100K
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach
Schools
14.3:1
12.8:1
St. Joseph
Childcare
$7,732/yr
N/A
Tie
Environment
720 violations
6737 violations
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle 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 · South Carolina
80 A #3/51
Income tax
85
Property tax
87
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
56
Destination state · Missouri
68 C #12/51
Income tax
82
Property tax
68
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
80

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 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach to see what you'd need to earn in St. Joseph to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in St. Joseph
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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