Amherst Town-Northampton → Alexandria
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Amherst Town-Northampton to Alexandria is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 100.2 to 85.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $1,010/mo.
- -$21,421
- BLS median salary lower in Alexandria
- 309 to 410
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 12.3:1 to 16.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $13,175
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Alexandria
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
- + 15% lower cost of living
- + $1010/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $21K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 100.2 to 85.7, so each dollar covers more in Alexandria (ratio 0.85). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $1,010/mo ($12,120/yr) from $2,004 in Amherst Town-Northampton to $994 in Alexandria.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Alexandria sits #113 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Amherst Town-Northampton is #162/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $21,421 lower ($76,696 → $55,275). Labor-market size: 59,110 tracked jobs at origin vs 52,940 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Louisiana scores 67 (C, #15/51) vs Massachusetts at 45 (F, #48/51). 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
- 55
- Property tax
- 65
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 84
- Income tax
- 78
- Property tax
- 79
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 8
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 Amherst Town-Northampton to see what you'd need to earn in Alexandria to maintain the same purchasing power.
Alexandria 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