Lancaster → Albany
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Lancaster to Albany is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 98.3 to 87.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $397/mo.
- -$4,904
- BLS median salary lower in Albany
- 250 to 300
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.6:1 to 14.4:1
- 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
- + 11% lower cost of living
- + $397/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $5K lower median salary
- - Higher violent crime rate
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 98.3 to 87.7, so each dollar covers more in Albany (ratio 0.89). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $397/mo ($4,764/yr) from $1,526 in Lancaster to $1,129 in Albany.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Albany sits #43 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Lancaster is #288/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,904 lower ($63,734 → $58,830). Labor-market size: 241,090 tracked jobs at origin vs 49,030 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: Pennsylvania 65 (C, #18/51) vs Georgia 68 (C, #10/51). 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
- 95
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 72
- Income tax
- 88
- Property tax
- 74
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 48
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 Lancaster to see what you'd need to earn in Albany 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