Albany-Schenectady-Troy → Salem
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Albany-Schenectady-Troy to Salem is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 99.6 to 103.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $142/mo.
- -$634
- BLS median salary lower in Salem
- 380 to 335
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 to 17.6:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,230
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Salem
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
- + $142/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 4% higher cost of living
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 99.6 to 103.6 (ratio 1.04), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $142/mo ($1,704/yr) from $1,702 in Albany-Schenectady-Troy to $1,560 in Salem.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Salem sits #278 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Albany-Schenectady-Troy is #220/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $634 lower ($73,812 → $73,178). Labor-market size: 439,210 tracked jobs at origin vs 179,820 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: New York 46 (F, #46/51) vs Oregon 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
- 80
- Property tax
- 48
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 96
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 64
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 14
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-Schenectady-Troy to see what you'd need to earn in Salem 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