Huntington-Ashland → Columbia
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Huntington-Ashland to Columbia is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 88.4 to 93.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $303/mo.
- +$1,413
- BLS median salary higher in Columbia
- 242 to 439
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.1:1 to 14.3:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,242
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Columbia
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
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - 5% higher cost of living
- - $303/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher violent crime rate
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 88.4 to 93.7, so the same paycheck buys less in Columbia (ratio 1.06). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $303/mo ($3,636/yr) from $973 in Huntington-Ashland to $1,276 in Columbia.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Columbia sits #29 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Huntington-Ashland is #12/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,413 higher ($62,704 → $64,117). Labor-market size: 133,420 tracked jobs at origin vs 383,170 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: West Virginia 82 (A, #2/51) vs South Carolina 80 (A, #3/51). 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
- 85
- Property tax
- 87
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 56
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 Huntington-Ashland to see what you'd need to earn in Columbia 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