Rapid City → Lewiston-Auburn
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Rapid City to Lewiston-Auburn is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 89.2 to 94.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $413/mo.
- +$1,470
- BLS median salary higher in Lewiston-Auburn
- 320 to 102
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.6:1 to 11.1:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,730
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Lewiston-Auburn
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
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 6% higher cost of living
- - $413/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 89.2 to 94.7, so the same paycheck buys less in Lewiston-Auburn (ratio 1.06). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $413/mo ($4,956/yr) from $1,173 in Rapid City to $1,586 in Lewiston-Auburn.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Lewiston-Auburn sits #20 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Rapid City is #230/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,470 higher ($61,147 → $62,617). Labor-market size: 68,240 tracked jobs at origin vs 41,990 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: South Dakota scores 73 (B, #7/51) vs Maine at 61 (C, #27/51). 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 64
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 70
- Income tax
- 68
- Property tax
- 60
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 100
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 Rapid City to see what you'd need to earn in Lewiston-Auburn to maintain the same purchasing power.
Lewiston-Auburn 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