Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater → Wichita Falls
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to Wichita Falls is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 100.9 to 89.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $841/mo.
- -$11,564
- BLS median salary lower in Wichita Falls
- 210 to 395
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.8:1 to 14.7:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $2,939
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Wichita Falls
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
- + 11% lower cost of living
- + $841/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $12K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 100.9 to 89.5, so each dollar covers more in Wichita Falls (ratio 0.89). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $841/mo ($10,092/yr) from $1,977 in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater to $1,136 in Wichita Falls.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Wichita Falls sits #228 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (middle third). Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater is #338/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $11,564 lower ($68,404 → $56,840). Labor-market size: 1,402,180 tracked jobs at origin vs 49,490 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Florida 62 (C, #23/51) vs Texas 65 (C, #19/51). 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 55
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 44
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 Wichita Falls to maintain the same purchasing power.
Wichita Falls 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