Elmira → Johnstown
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Elmira to Johnstown is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 94.4 to 85.9 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $248/mo.
- -$4,726
- BLS median salary lower in Johnstown
- 380 to 250
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.8:1 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
- + 8% lower cost of living
- + $248/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
Cons of Moving
- - $5K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 94.4 to 85.9, so each dollar covers more in Johnstown (ratio 0.91). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $248/mo ($2,976/yr) from $1,283 in Elmira to $1,035 in Johnstown.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 2 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Johnstown sits #35 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Elmira is #197/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,726 lower ($61,869 → $57,143). Labor-market size: 27,950 tracked jobs at origin vs 42,320 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Pennsylvania scores 65 (C, #18/51) vs New York at 46 (F, #46/51). 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
- 48
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 96
- 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 Elmira to see what you'd need to earn in Johnstown 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