Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro → St. Joseph
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to St. Joseph is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 105.4 to 86.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $845/mo.
- -$18,021
- BLS median salary lower in St. Joseph
- 335 to 463
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 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.
Pros of Moving
- + 19% lower cost of living
- + $845/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $18K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 105.4 to 86.4, so each dollar covers more in St. Joseph (ratio 0.82). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $845/mo ($10,140/yr) from $1,922 in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to $1,077 in St. Joseph.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. St. Joseph sits #120 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro is #231/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $18,021 lower ($79,572 → $61,551). Labor-market size: 1,180,420 tracked jobs at origin vs 49,300 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Missouri scores 68 (C, #12/51) vs Oregon at 41 (F, #49/51). 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
- 62
- Property tax
- 64
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 14
- 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 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to see what you'd need to earn in St. Joseph to maintain the same purchasing power.
St. Joseph metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
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