Salem → El Centro
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Salem to El Centro is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.6 to 95.2 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $198/mo.
- -$1,984
- BLS median salary lower in El Centro
- 335 to 477
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 21.5:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $5,281
- DOL infant care higher / yr in El Centro
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
- + 8% lower cost of living
- + $198/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
Cons of Moving
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More expensive childcare
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 103.6 to 95.2, so each dollar covers more in El Centro (ratio 0.92). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $198/mo ($2,376/yr) from $1,560 in Salem to $1,362 in El Centro.
Salem still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. El Centro sits #350 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Salem is #278/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,984 lower ($73,178 → $71,194). Labor-market size: 179,820 tracked jobs at origin vs 57,840 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Oregon 41 (F, #49/51) vs California 40 (F, #50/51). 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
- 70
- Property tax
- 72
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 4
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 Salem to see what you'd need to earn in El Centro to maintain the same purchasing power.
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