Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater → Jonesboro
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to Jonesboro is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 100.9 to 85.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $937/mo.
- -$12,992
- BLS median salary lower in Jonesboro
- 210 to 580
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.8:1 to 13.6:1
- 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
- + 15% lower cost of living
- + $937/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $13K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 100.9 to 85.9, so each dollar covers more in Jonesboro (ratio 0.85). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $937/mo ($11,244/yr) from $1,977 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to $1,040 in Jonesboro.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Jonesboro sits #74 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is #338/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $12,992 lower ($68,404 → $55,412). Labor-market size: 1,402,180 tracked jobs at origin vs 55,350 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Arkansas scores 74 (B, #6/51) vs Florida at 62 (C, #23/51). 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
- 67
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 12
- Income tax
- 75
- Property tax
- 78
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 68
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 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to see what you'd need to earn in Jonesboro 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