Waterbury-Shelton Bangor

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Waterbury-Shelton to Bangor is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 99.8 to 96.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $396/mo.

-$6,894
BLS median salary lower in Bangor
139 to 102
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
12.1:1 to 11.1:1
NCES student-teacher ratio
$5,802
DOL infant care lower / yr in Bangor

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
Strongly Favorable
Cost Index: 99.8 → 96.5
Rent Delta: -$396/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + 3% lower cost of living
  • + $396/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + More affordable childcare

Cons of Moving

  • - $7K lower median salary

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 99.8 to 96.5 (ratio 0.97), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $396/mo ($4,752/yr) from $1,788 in Waterbury-Shelton to $1,392 in Bangor.

Bangor leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Bangor sits #23 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Waterbury-Shelton is #87/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $6,894 lower ($72,471 → $65,577). Labor-market size: 153,560 tracked jobs at origin vs 66,130 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Maine scores 61 (C, #27/51) vs Connecticut at 52 (D, #41/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Waterbury-Shelton
Bangor
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 99.8
RPP 96.5
Bangor
Rent (2BR)
$1,788/mo
$1,392/mo
Bangor
Wages
$72,471
$65,577
Waterbury-Shelton
Crime
139 per 100K
102 per 100K
Bangor
Schools
12.1:1
11.1:1
Bangor
Childcare
$17,127/yr
$11,325/yr
Bangor
Environment
801 violations
832 violations
Waterbury-Shelton

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 · Connecticut
52 D #41/51
Income tax
62
Property tax
50
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
86
Destination state · Maine
61 C #27/51
Income tax
68
Property tax
60
Estate tax
50
Healthcare
100

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 Waterbury-Shelton to see what you'd need to earn in Bangor to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Bangor
-

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