Washington-Arlington-Alexandria → Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Washington-Arlington-Alexandria to Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 108.9 to 104.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $537/mo.

-$2,146
BLS median salary lower in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
1015 to 259
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
11:1 to 13.9:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$13,758
DOL infant care lower / yr in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington

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.

Verdict
Favorable
Cost Index: 108.9 → 104.8
Rent Delta: -$537/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + 4% lower cost of living
  • + $537/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + More affordable childcare

Cons of Moving

  • - $2K lower median salary
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 108.9 to 104.8 (ratio 0.96), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $537/mo ($6,444/yr) from $2,246 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria to $1,709 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington.

The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington sits #332 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is #110/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,146 lower ($82,744 → $80,598). Labor-market size: 3,082,600 tracked jobs at origin vs 1,928,660 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors staying put: District of Columbia scores 61 (C, #26/51) vs Minnesota at 49 (F, #43/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 108.9
RPP 104.8
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Rent (2BR)
$2,246/mo
$1,709/mo
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Wages
$82,744
$80,598
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Crime
1015 per 100K
259 per 100K
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Schools
11:1
13.9:1
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
Childcare
$25,480/yr
$11,722/yr
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Environment
38 violations
1033 violations
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · District of Columbia
61 C #26/51
Income tax
70
Property tax
72
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
90
Destination state · Minnesota
49 F #43/51
Income tax
60
Property tax
62
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
34

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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria to see what you'd need to earn in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
-

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