Mount Vernon-Anacortes → Reading
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Mount Vernon-Anacortes to Reading is favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 102.4 to 97.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $145/mo.
- -$11,148
- BLS median salary lower in Reading
- 329 to 250
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 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
- + 5% lower cost of living
- + $145/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
- + Better student-teacher ratios
Cons of Moving
- - $11K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 102.4 to 97.1, so each dollar covers more in Reading (ratio 0.95). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $145/mo ($1,740/yr) from $1,720 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes to $1,575 in Reading.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 2 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Reading sits #268 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Mount Vernon-Anacortes is #253/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $11,148 lower ($74,635 → $63,487). Labor-market size: 46,720 tracked jobs at origin vs 165,600 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Pennsylvania scores 65 (C, #18/51) vs Washington at 38 (F, #51/51). 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
- 63
- Property tax
- 63
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 18
- 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 Mount Vernon-Anacortes 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