Harrisonburg → Owensboro
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Harrisonburg to Owensboro is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 94.9 to 88.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $212/mo.
- -$2,766
- BLS median salary lower in Owensboro
- 223 to 225
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.9:1 to 15.2:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $3,169
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Owensboro
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
- + 6% lower cost of living
- + $212/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $3K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 94.9 to 88.6, so each dollar covers more in Owensboro (ratio 0.93). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $212/mo ($2,544/yr) from $1,322 in Harrisonburg to $1,110 in Owensboro.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Owensboro sits #106 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Harrisonburg is #186/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $2,766 lower ($62,347 → $59,581). Labor-market size: 56,170 tracked jobs at origin vs 41,400 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Virginia 64 (C, #20/51) vs Kentucky 68 (C, #11/51). 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
- 78
- Property tax
- 71
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 62
- Income tax
- 72
- Property tax
- 73
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 38
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 Harrisonburg to see what you'd need to earn in Owensboro 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