Sioux City → Wheeling
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Pros of Moving
- + $163/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $3K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Moving from Sioux City to Wheeling shifts your BEA Regional Price Parity from 86.5 to 88.3 (100 = US average), so a Sioux City salary needs to be multiplied by 1.02 to hold the same purchasing power in Wheeling. On rent, HUD Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom goes from $1,154/month in Sioux City to $991/month in Wheeling - a lower monthly bill of $163, or $1,956/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 $61,732 in Sioux City versus $58,635 in Wheeling - a raw gap of $3,097 lower. The Wheeling labor market has 52,560 tracked jobs against 69,160 in Sioux City, 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 Sioux City and Wheeling are 238 and 242 per 100,000 (state-level). NCES student-teacher ratios run 14.8:1 at origin versus 13.1:1 at destination. DOL center-based infant care costs $8,306/year in Sioux City versus $8,974/year in Wheeling. Our composite verdict - Neutral — Depends on Priorities - weighs all seven federal sources; the dimension table below lets you override that with your personal priorities.
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Sioux City to see what you'd need to earn in Wheeling to maintain the same purchasing power.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026
Data Sources
- Cost of Living: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Regional Price Parities
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR)
- Wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES)
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - state level
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
- Childcare: Department of Labor (DOL) - state level
- Environment: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.