Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro → Albany
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to Albany is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 105.4 to 87.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $793/mo.
- -$20,742
- BLS median salary lower in Albany
- 335 to 300
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 14.4:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $6,048
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Albany
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
- + 18% lower cost of living
- + $793/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Better student-teacher ratios
- + More affordable childcare
Cons of Moving
- - $21K lower median salary
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 105.4 to 87.7, so each dollar covers more in Albany (ratio 0.83). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $793/mo ($9,516/yr) from $1,922 in Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro to $1,129 in Albany.
Albany leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Albany sits #43 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro is #231/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $20,742 lower ($79,572 → $58,830). Labor-market size: 1,180,420 tracked jobs at origin vs 49,030 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Georgia scores 68 (C, #10/51) vs Oregon at 41 (F, #49/51). 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
- 62
- Property tax
- 64
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 14
- 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 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 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