Ames → Weirton-Steubenville
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Ames to Weirton-Steubenville is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 88.8 to 89.0 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $53/mo.
- -$7,404
- BLS median salary lower in Weirton-Steubenville
- 238 to 242
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14.8:1 to 13.1:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $668
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Weirton-Steubenville
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
- + $53/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $7K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 88.8 to 89.0 (ratio 1.00), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $53/mo ($636/yr) from $1,026 in Ames to $973 in Weirton-Steubenville.
Ames still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Weirton-Steubenville sits #17 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Ames is #15/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $7,404 lower ($64,722 → $57,318). Labor-market size: 48,070 tracked jobs at origin vs 29,900 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: West Virginia scores 82 (A, #2/51) vs Iowa at 70 (B, #8/51). 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
- 85
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 42
- Income tax
- 80
- Property tax
- 86
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 64
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 Ames to see what you'd need to earn in Weirton-Steubenville to maintain the same purchasing power.
Weirton-Steubenville 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