Yakima → Prescott Valley-Prescott
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Yakima to Prescott Valley-Prescott is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 95.5 to 98.3 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $263/mo.
- -$8,178
- BLS median salary lower in Prescott Valley-Prescott
- 329 to 429
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 17:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $4,686
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Prescott Valley-Prescott
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
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $263/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - $8K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 95.5 to 98.3 (ratio 1.03), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $263/mo ($3,156/yr) from $1,374 in Yakima to $1,637 in Prescott Valley-Prescott.
Yakima still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Prescott Valley-Prescott sits #345 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Yakima is #202/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $8,178 lower ($70,002 → $61,824). Labor-market size: 90,310 tracked jobs at origin vs 65,740 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Arizona scores 53 (D, #37/51) vs Washington at 38 (F, #51/51). 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
- 63
- Property tax
- 63
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 18
- Income tax
- 82
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 22
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 Yakima to see what you'd need to earn in Prescott Valley-Prescott to maintain the same purchasing power.
Prescott Valley-Prescott 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