Santa Fe → Decatur
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Santa Fe to Decatur is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.8 to 87.2 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $724/mo.
- -$4,734
- BLS median salary lower in Decatur
- 697 to 376
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14:1 to 17.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
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
- + 12% lower cost of living
- + $724/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $5K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 98.8 to 87.2, so each dollar covers more in Decatur (ratio 0.88). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $724/mo ($8,688/yr) from $1,685 in Santa Fe to $961 in Decatur.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 2 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Decatur sits #55 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Santa Fe is #343/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,734 lower ($66,448 → $61,714). Labor-market size: 55,730 tracked jobs at origin vs 54,590 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Alabama scores 75 (B, #5/51) vs New Mexico at 59 (D, #28/51). 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
- 78
- Property tax
- 77
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 50
- Income tax
- 90
- Property tax
- 92
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 20
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 Santa Fe to see what you'd need to earn in Decatur 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