Salisbury → Altoona
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Salisbury to Altoona is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 95.6 to 89.5 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $29/mo.
- -$9,162
- BLS median salary lower in Altoona
- 425 to 250
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 14.5:1 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
- + 6% lower cost of living
- + Lower violent crime rate
Cons of Moving
- - $9K lower median salary
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 95.6 to 89.5, so each dollar covers more in Altoona (ratio 0.94). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent barely moves ($1,167 → $1,138); the housing line is not the swing factor on this corridor.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 2 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Altoona sits #41 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Salisbury is #69/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $9,162 lower ($66,497 → $57,335). Labor-market size: 46,370 tracked jobs at origin vs 52,800 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Pennsylvania scores 65 (C, #18/51) vs Maryland at 46 (F, #45/51). 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
- 75
- Property tax
- 63
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 52
- 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 Salisbury to see what you'd need to earn in Altoona 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