Morgantown → Owensboro
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Morgantown to Owensboro is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.3 to 88.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $11/mo.
- -$827
- BLS median salary lower in Owensboro
- 242 to 225
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.1:1 to 15.2:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $1,736
- 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
- + 5% lower cost of living
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 93.3 to 88.6, so each dollar covers more in Owensboro (ratio 0.95). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent barely moves ($1,099 → $1,110); the housing line is not the swing factor on this corridor.
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). Morgantown is #25/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $827 lower ($60,408 → $59,581). Labor-market size: 57,550 tracked jobs at origin vs 41,400 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: West Virginia scores 82 (A, #2/51) vs Kentucky at 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
- 80
- Property tax
- 86
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 64
- 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 Morgantown 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