Morgantown → Reading
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Morgantown to Reading is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.3 to 97.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $476/mo.
- +$3,079
- BLS median salary higher in Reading
- 242 to 250
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.1:1 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
- + $3K higher median salary
Cons of Moving
- - 4% higher cost of living
- - $476/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 93.3 to 97.1 (ratio 1.04), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $476/mo ($5,712/yr) from $1,099 in Morgantown to $1,575 in Reading.
Morgantown still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Reading sits #268 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Morgantown is #25/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $3,079 higher ($60,408 → $63,487). Labor-market size: 57,550 tracked jobs at origin vs 165,600 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: West Virginia scores 82 (A, #2/51) vs Pennsylvania at 65 (C, #18/51). 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
- 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 Morgantown to see what you'd need to earn in Reading 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