Scranton--Wilkes-Barre → Eau Claire
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Scranton--Wilkes-Barre to Eau Claire is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.6 to 92.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $71/mo.
- +$3,445
- BLS median salary higher in Eau Claire
- 250 to 280
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.6:1 to 14.4:1
- 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
- + $71/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + $3K higher median salary
- + Fewer environmental violations
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 93.6 to 92.8 (ratio 0.99), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $71/mo ($852/yr) from $1,252 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre to $1,181 in Eau Claire.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (4 destination wins · 2 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Eau Claire sits #80 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is #148/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $3,445 higher ($61,803 → $65,248). Labor-market size: 246,030 tracked jobs at origin vs 79,810 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Pennsylvania scores 65 (C, #18/51) vs Wisconsin at 57 (D, #32/51). 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
- 95
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 72
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 56
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 40
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 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre to see what you'd need to earn in Eau Claire to maintain the same purchasing power.
Eau Claire metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
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