Altoona → Chattanooga
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Altoona to Chattanooga is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 89.5 to 91.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $252/mo.
- +$4,521
- BLS median salary higher in Chattanooga
- 250 to 602
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.6:1 to 15.3:1
- 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
- + $5K higher median salary
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $252/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 89.5 to 91.5 (ratio 1.02), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $252/mo ($3,024/yr) from $1,138 in Altoona to $1,390 in Chattanooga.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (2 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Chattanooga sits #334 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Altoona is #41/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,521 higher ($57,335 → $61,856). Labor-market size: 52,800 tracked jobs at origin vs 261,210 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Pennsylvania 65 (C, #18/51) vs Tennessee 66 (C, #17/51). 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
- 95
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 72
- Income tax
- 100
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 36
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 Altoona to see what you'd need to earn in Chattanooga to maintain the same purchasing power.
Chattanooga 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