San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont to Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 115.6 to 108.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $666/mo.
- -$12,964
- BLS median salary lower in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
- 477 to 1015
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 20.8:1 to 11:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $7,560
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
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
- + 7% lower cost of living
- + $666/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $13K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 115.6 to 108.9, so each dollar covers more in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (ratio 0.94). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $666/mo ($7,992/yr) from $2,912 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont to $2,246 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria sits #110 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont is #387/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $12,964 lower ($95,708 → $82,744). Labor-market size: 2,339,300 tracked jobs at origin vs 3,082,600 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: District of Columbia scores 61 (C, #26/51) vs California at 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
- 70
- Property tax
- 72
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 4
- Income tax
- 70
- Property tax
- 72
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 90
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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont to see what you'd need to earn in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria to maintain the same purchasing power.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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