Tuscaloosa → Cape Girardeau
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Tuscaloosa to Cape Girardeau is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 87.7 to 86.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $148/mo.
- -$2,627
- BLS median salary lower in Cape Girardeau
- 376 to 463
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.7:1 to 12.8:1
- 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
- + $148/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $3K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 87.7 to 86.1 (ratio 0.98), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $148/mo ($1,776/yr) from $1,140 in Tuscaloosa to $992 in Cape Girardeau.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Cape Girardeau sits #91 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Tuscaloosa is #57/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,627 lower ($58,026 → $55,399). Labor-market size: 96,660 tracked jobs at origin vs 37,860 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Alabama 75 (B, #5/51) vs Missouri 68 (C, #12/51). 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
- 90
- Property tax
- 92
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 20
- Income tax
- 82
- Property tax
- 68
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 80
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 Tuscaloosa to see what you'd need to earn in Cape Girardeau to maintain the same purchasing power.
Cape Girardeau 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