Raleigh-Cary → Spartanburg

Moving from Raleigh-Cary to Spartanburg shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 98.2 to 91.1 (100 = US average), so a Raleigh-Cary salary needs to be multiplied by 0.93 to hold the same purchasing power in Spartanburg. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,750/month in Raleigh-Cary to $1,187/month in Spartanburg - a lower monthly bill of $563, or $6,756/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 $63,034 in Spartanburg - a raw gap of $5,659 lower. The Spartanburg labor market has 158,460 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 Spartanburg are 365 and 439 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 15.8:1 at origin versus 14.3:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $9,487/year in Raleigh-Cary versus $7,732/year in Spartanburg. Our composite verdict - Strongly Favorable - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.