Altoona → Hattiesburg
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Altoona to Hattiesburg is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 89.5 to 87.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $91/mo.
- -$5,591
- BLS median salary lower in Hattiesburg
- 250 to 143
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.6:1 to 13.3:1
- 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
- + $91/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $6K lower median salary
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 89.5 to 87.6 (ratio 0.98), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $91/mo ($1,092/yr) from $1,138 in Altoona to $1,047 in Hattiesburg.
Hattiesburg leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Hattiesburg sits #19 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Altoona is #41/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,591 lower ($57,335 → $51,744). Labor-market size: 52,800 tracked jobs at origin vs 54,020 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Mississippi scores 89 (A, #1/51) vs Pennsylvania at 65 (C, #18/51). 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
- 92
- Property tax
- 75
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 76
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 Hattiesburg to maintain the same purchasing power.
Hattiesburg 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