Pinehurst-Southern Pines → Niles
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Pros of Moving
- + $174/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + $2K higher median salary
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 4% higher cost of living
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Moving from Pinehurst-Southern Pines to Niles shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 88.3 to 92.4 (100 = US average), so a Pinehurst-Southern Pines salary needs to be multiplied by 1.05 to hold the same purchasing power in Niles. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,358/month in Pinehurst-Southern Pines to $1,184/month in Niles - a lower monthly bill of $174, or $2,088/year. That rent delta alone is often the single biggest line item when relocating.
Wages tell the other half. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report a median salary of $59,014 in Pinehurst-Southern Pines versus $61,444 in Niles - a raw gap of $2,430 higher. The Niles labor market has 51,600 tracked jobs against 36,690 in Pinehurst-Southern Pines, shaping how easy it is to find a comparable role. Combine that with the cost-of-living shift above and you get the real purchasing-power delta, sometimes a "higher salary" is actually a pay cut once rent and RPP are applied.
Safety, schools, and childcare round out the move. FBI UCR violent crime rates near Pinehurst-Southern Pines and Niles are 365 and 431 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 15.8:1 at origin versus 17.5:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $9,487/year in Pinehurst-Southern Pines versus $7,444/year in Niles. Our composite verdict - Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026
Data Sources
- Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
- Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - state level
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL) - state level
- Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.