Albany → Great Falls
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Albany to Great Falls is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 102.1 to 96.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $216/mo.
- -$7,369
- BLS median salary lower in Great Falls
- 335 to 426
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 11.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,173
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Great Falls
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
- + 5% lower cost of living
- + $216/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $7K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 102.1 to 96.8, so each dollar covers more in Great Falls (ratio 0.95). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $216/mo ($2,592/yr) from $1,500 in Albany to $1,284 in Great Falls.
Great Falls leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Great Falls sits #315 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Albany is #281/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $7,369 lower ($67,935 → $60,566). Labor-market size: 42,220 tracked jobs at origin vs 31,100 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Montana scores 53 (D, #38/51) vs Oregon at 41 (F, #49/51). 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
- 62
- Property tax
- 64
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 14
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 68
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 82
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 Albany to see what you'd need to earn in Great Falls to maintain the same purchasing power.
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