Scranton--Wilkes-Barre Lake Havasu City-Kingman

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Scranton--Wilkes-Barre to Lake Havasu City-Kingman is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 93.6 to 94.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $113/mo.

-$3,895
BLS median salary lower in Lake Havasu City-Kingman
250 to 429
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
13.6:1 to 17:1
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.

Verdict
Unfavorable
Cost Index: 93.6 → 94.1
Rent Delta: +$113/mo

Cons of Moving

  • - $113/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
  • - $4K lower median salary
  • - Higher violent crime rate
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 93.6 to 94.1 (ratio 1.01), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $113/mo ($1,356/yr) from $1,252 in Scranton--Wilkes-Barre to $1,365 in Lake Havasu City-Kingman.

Scranton--Wilkes-Barre still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Lake Havasu City-Kingman sits #265 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Scranton--Wilkes-Barre is #148/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $3,895 lower ($61,803 → $57,908). Labor-market size: 246,030 tracked jobs at origin vs 51,040 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors staying put: Pennsylvania scores 65 (C, #18/51) vs Arizona at 53 (D, #37/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Lake Havasu City-Kingman
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 93.6
RPP 94.1
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Rent (2BR)
$1,252/mo
$1,365/mo
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Wages
$61,803
$57,908
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Crime
250 per 100K
429 per 100K
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Schools
13.6:1
17:1
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre
Childcare
N/A
$11,301/yr
Tie
Environment
5292 violations
5259 violations
Lake Havasu City-Kingman

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Pennsylvania
65 C #18/51
Income tax
95
Property tax
58
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
72
Destination state · Arizona
53 D #37/51
Income tax
82
Property tax
80
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
22

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 Lake Havasu City-Kingman to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Lake Havasu City-Kingman
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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