Portland-South Portland → Dalton
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Portland-South Portland to Dalton is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 101.9 to 89.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $824/mo.
- -$13,459
- BLS median salary lower in Dalton
- 102 to 300
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.1:1 to 14.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,734
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Dalton
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
- + 12% lower cost of living
- + $824/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $13K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 101.9 to 89.8, so each dollar covers more in Dalton (ratio 0.88). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $824/mo ($9,888/yr) from $1,833 in Portland-South Portland to $1,009 in Dalton.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Dalton sits #36 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Portland-South Portland is #94/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $13,459 lower ($75,121 → $61,662). Labor-market size: 273,870 tracked jobs at origin vs 59,390 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Maine 61 (C, #27/51) vs Georgia 68 (C, #10/51). 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
- 68
- Property tax
- 60
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 100
- Income tax
- 88
- Property tax
- 74
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 48
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 Dalton 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