Salem → Albany
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Salem to Albany is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 103.6 to 102.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $60/mo.
- -$5,243
- BLS median salary lower in Albany
- 335 to 335
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 17.6:1 to 17.6:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $0
- DOL infant care higher / 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
- + $60/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
Cons of Moving
- - $5K lower median salary
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 103.6 to 102.1 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $60/mo ($720/yr) from $1,560 in Salem to $1,500 in Albany.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (2 destination wins · 1 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Albany sits #281 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Salem is #278/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $5,243 lower ($73,178 → $67,935). Labor-market size: 179,820 tracked jobs at origin vs 42,220 at destination.
Both metros sit in Oregon: state retirement score 41 (F, #49/51) - tax posture does not change with this move. 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
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 Salem 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