Amherst Town-Northampton → Charleston-North Charleston
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Amherst Town-Northampton to Charleston-North Charleston is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 100.2 to 101.0 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $217/mo.
- -$9,010
- BLS median salary lower in Charleston-North Charleston
- 309 to 439
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 12.3:1 to 14.3:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $12,839
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Charleston-North Charleston
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
- + $217/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $9K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 100.2 to 101.0 (ratio 1.01), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $217/mo ($2,604/yr) from $2,004 in Amherst Town-Northampton to $1,787 in Charleston-North Charleston.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Charleston-North Charleston sits #100 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Amherst Town-Northampton is #162/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $9,010 lower ($76,696 → $67,686). Labor-market size: 59,110 tracked jobs at origin vs 381,130 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: South Carolina scores 80 (A, #3/51) 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
- 85
- Property tax
- 87
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 56
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 Charleston-North Charleston to maintain the same purchasing power.
Charleston-North Charleston 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