What is the cost of living in Huntington-Ashland?

Huntington-Ashland has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 88.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 51.3, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $973/month.

What is the median salary in Huntington-Ashland?

The median salary in Huntington-Ashland is $62,704 annually (mean: $65,452). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

How safe is Huntington-Ashland?

The violent crime rate in the Huntington-Ashland area is 242 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1089 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Huntington-Ashland?

The state of WV has 648 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.1:1. Charter schools make up 0.6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Huntington-Ashland?

Infant center-based childcare in the Huntington-Ashland area averages $8,974 per year. Preschool averages $8,470/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Huntington-Ashland a good place to relocate?

Huntington-Ashland has a Life Score of 63.7/100 (C), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Huntington-Ashland in the top decile of scored metros, a genuinely strong all-around profile.

Where does Huntington-Ashland sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Huntington-Ashland ranks #12 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH

LiveAbility 66.3/100 places Huntington-Ashland #12 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

88.4
Cost index (US=100): $973
2BR rent / mo: $62,704
Median salary: 66.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Huntington-Ashland ranks #12 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (66.3/100), with its strongest marks in safety and housing.

#12
of 387 US metros · Excellent: 1,769,979
metro-area population: 242
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 648
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (10/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Huntington-Ashland ranks #12 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 88.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $973/mo, median salary $62,704; LiveAbility Score 66.3/100, strongest in safety and housing.

Signature: LiveAbility 66.3/100 places Huntington-Ashland #12 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 88.4 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $973/mo.

LiveAbility 66.3/100 puts Huntington-Ashland in the top third (#12 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Huntington-Ashland area is 133,420.

Huntington-Ashland vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

66 Top 3% higher than 97% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Huntington-Ashland housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Huntington-Ashland MSA; housing RPP 51.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $973/mo.

Studio

$848

/month

1 Bedroom

$853

/month

2 Bedroom

$973

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,249

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,410

/month

Huntington-Ashland wages and employment

Huntington-Ashland posts 133,420 total employment with median salary $62,704 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$62,704

Mean Salary

$65,452

Total Employment

133,420

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$81,010
Retail Salespersons	$28,220
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$28,740
Cashiers	$27,080
General and Operations Managers	$77,350

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Huntington-Ashland area from NCES.

Schools

648

Enrollment

242,956

Student:Teacher

13.1:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Huntington-Ashland area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$8,974

per year

Toddler (Center)

$8,493

per year

Preschool (Center)

$8,470

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Huntington-Ashland's composite Life Score is 63.7/100 (C), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

84/100

Elite

Wages

10/100

Bottom decile

Rent

96/100

Elite

Crime

99/100

Elite

Schools

22/100

Weak

Childcare

62/100

Above average

Environment

73/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Huntington-Ashland ranks #12 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 66.3/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Safety (100/100)

Safety

100
Housing

96
Cost of living

84
Schools

78
Low hazard

71
Air quality

49
Climate

26
Job market

10

What this shows Huntington-Ashland's strongest dimensions are safety and housing; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 10/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Huntington-Ashland to

Columbia Columbia Columbus Columbus Columbus Corpus Christi

Metros near Huntington-Ashland on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Huntington-Ashland on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Huntington-Ashland cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Huntington-Ashland wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Huntington-Ashland?

Huntington-Ashland runs a $62,704 median salary at a 88.4 cost index, ranking #12 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Huntington-Ashland's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Huntington-Ashland head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Huntington-Ashland
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.