Beckley → Duluth
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Beckley to Duluth is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 88.4 to 88.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $317/mo.
- +$13,458
- BLS median salary higher in Duluth
- 242 to 259
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.1:1 to 15.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $2,748
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Duluth
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
- + $13K higher median salary
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $317/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 88.4 to 88.8 (ratio 1.00), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $317/mo ($3,804/yr) from $915 in Beckley to $1,232 in Duluth.
Beckley still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Duluth sits #79 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Beckley is #10/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $13,458 higher ($56,994 → $70,452). Labor-market size: 37,740 tracked jobs at origin vs 117,960 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: West Virginia scores 82 (A, #2/51) vs Minnesota at 49 (F, #43/51). 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
- 80
- Property tax
- 86
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 64
- Income tax
- 60
- Property tax
- 62
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 34
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 Beckley to see what you'd need to earn in Duluth to maintain the same purchasing power.
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