Weirton-Steubenville → Ames
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Weirton-Steubenville to Ames is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 89.0 to 88.8 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $53/mo.
- +$7,404
- BLS median salary higher in Ames
- 242 to 238
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 13.1:1 to 14.8:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $668
- DOL infant care lower / yr in Ames
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
- + $7K higher median salary
- + Fewer environmental violations
Cons of Moving
- - $53/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 89.0 to 88.8 (ratio 1.00), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $53/mo ($636/yr) from $973 in Weirton-Steubenville to $1,026 in Ames.
Ames leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Ames sits #15 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (top third of the corpus). Weirton-Steubenville is #17/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $7,404 higher ($57,318 → $64,722). Labor-market size: 29,900 tracked jobs at origin vs 48,070 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: West Virginia scores 82 (A, #2/51) vs Iowa at 70 (B, #8/51). 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
- 80
- Property tax
- 86
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 64
- Income tax
- 85
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 42
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 Weirton-Steubenville to see what you'd need to earn in Ames 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