Raleigh-Cary → Midland

Moving from Raleigh-Cary to Midland shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 98.2 to 91.9 (100 = US average), so a Raleigh-Cary salary needs to be multiplied by 0.94 to hold the same purchasing power in Midland. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,750/month in Raleigh-Cary to $1,193/month in Midland - a lower monthly bill of $557, or $6,684/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 $68,693 in Raleigh-Cary versus $67,285 in Midland - a raw gap of $1,408 lower. The Midland labor market has 29,130 tracked jobs against 725,130 in Raleigh-Cary, 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 Raleigh-Cary and Midland 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 Raleigh-Cary versus $7,444/year in Midland. Our composite verdict - Strongly Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.