Prescott Valley-Prescott St. Joseph

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Prescott Valley-Prescott to St. Joseph is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.3 to 86.4 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $560/mo.

-$273
BLS median salary lower in St. Joseph
429 to 463
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
17:1 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: 98.3 → 86.4
Rent Delta: -$560/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + 12% lower cost of living
  • + $560/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + Better student-teacher ratios

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 98.3 to 86.4, so each dollar covers more in St. Joseph (ratio 0.88). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $560/mo ($6,720/yr) from $1,637 in Prescott Valley-Prescott 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). Prescott Valley-Prescott is #345/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $273 lower ($61,824 → $61,551). Labor-market size: 65,740 tracked jobs at origin vs 49,300 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Missouri scores 68 (C, #12/51) vs Arizona at 53 (D, #37/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Prescott Valley-Prescott
St. Joseph
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 98.3
RPP 86.4
St. Joseph
Rent (2BR)
$1,637/mo
$1,077/mo
St. Joseph
Wages
$61,824
$61,551
Prescott Valley-Prescott
Crime
429 per 100K
463 per 100K
Prescott Valley-Prescott
Schools
17:1
12.8:1
St. Joseph
Childcare
$11,301/yr
N/A
Tie
Environment
5259 violations
6737 violations
Prescott Valley-Prescott

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 · Arizona
53 D #37/51
Income tax
82
Property tax
80
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
22
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 Prescott Valley-Prescott to see what you'd need to earn in St. Joseph to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in St. Joseph
-

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