Chattanooga → Altoona
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Chattanooga to Altoona is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 91.5 to 89.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $252/mo.
- -$4,521
- BLS median salary lower in Altoona
- 602 to 250
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.3:1 to 13.6:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
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
- + $252/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $5K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 91.5 to 89.5 (ratio 0.98), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $252/mo ($3,024/yr) from $1,390 in Chattanooga to $1,138 in Altoona.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 2 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Altoona sits #41 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Chattanooga is #334/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,521 lower ($61,856 → $57,335). Labor-market size: 261,210 tracked jobs at origin vs 52,800 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Tennessee 66 (C, #17/51) vs Pennsylvania 65 (C, #18/51). 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
- 100
- Property tax
- 80
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 36
- Income tax
- 95
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 72
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 Chattanooga to see what you'd need to earn in Altoona 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