Amherst Town-Northampton → Charleston
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Amherst Town-Northampton to Charleston is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 100.2 to 88.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $1,135/mo.
- -$14,835
- BLS median salary lower in Charleston
- 309 to 242
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 12.3:1 to 13.1:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $11,597
- DOL infant care lower / yr in 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
- + 12% lower cost of living
- + $1135/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $15K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 100.2 to 88.7, so each dollar covers more in Charleston (ratio 0.89). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $1,135/mo ($13,620/yr) from $2,004 in Amherst Town-Northampton to $869 in Charleston.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Charleston sits #3 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Amherst Town-Northampton is #162/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $14,835 lower ($76,696 → $61,861). Labor-market size: 59,110 tracked jobs at origin vs 94,760 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: West Virginia scores 82 (A, #2/51) 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
- 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 Amherst Town-Northampton to see what you'd need to earn in Charleston to maintain the same purchasing power.
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