Portland-South Portland Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Portland-South Portland to Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 101.9 to 103.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $98/mo.

-$1,645
BLS median salary lower in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
102 to 395
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
11.1:1 to 14.7:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$3,759
DOL infant care lower / yr in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

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
Unfavorable
Cost Index: 101.9 → 103.1
Rent Delta: +$98/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + More affordable childcare

Cons of Moving

  • - $98/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
  • - Higher violent crime rate
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 101.9 to 103.1 (ratio 1.01), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $98/mo ($1,176/yr) from $1,833 in Portland-South Portland to $1,931 in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.

Portland-South Portland still leads on 6 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington sits #351 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Portland-South Portland is #94/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,645 lower ($75,121 → $73,476). Labor-market size: 273,870 tracked jobs at origin vs 4,019,090 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Maine 61 (C, #27/51) vs Texas 65 (C, #19/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Portland-South Portland
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 101.9
RPP 103.1
Portland-South Portland
Rent (2BR)
$1,833/mo
$1,931/mo
Portland-South Portland
Wages
$75,121
$73,476
Portland-South Portland
Crime
102 per 100K
395 per 100K
Portland-South Portland
Schools
11.1:1
14.7:1
Portland-South Portland
Childcare
$11,325/yr
$7,566/yr
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
Environment
832 violations
35693 violations
Portland-South Portland

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 · Maine
61 C #27/51
Income tax
68
Property tax
60
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
100
Destination state · Texas
65 C #19/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
55
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
44

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 Portland-South Portland to see what you'd need to earn in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
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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