Albany → Lancaster
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Albany to Lancaster is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 102.1 to 98.3 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $26/mo.
- -$4,201
- BLS median salary lower in Lancaster
- 335 to 250
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 13.6:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
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
- + 4% lower cost of living
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $4K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 102.1 to 98.3 (ratio 0.96), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent barely moves ($1,500 → $1,526); the housing line is not the swing factor on this corridor.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Lancaster sits #288 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 $4,201 lower ($67,935 → $63,734). Labor-market size: 42,220 tracked jobs at origin vs 241,090 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Pennsylvania scores 65 (C, #18/51) 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
- 95
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 72
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 Lancaster 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