Wildwood-The Villages Reading

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Wildwood-The Villages to Reading is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 85.4 to 97.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $247/mo.

-$289
BLS median salary lower in Reading
210 to 250
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
17.8:1 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.

Verdict
Less Favorable
Cost Index: 85.4 → 97.1
Rent Delta: +$247/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + Better student-teacher ratios

Cons of Moving

  • - 12% higher cost of living
  • - $247/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
  • - More environmental violations

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 85.4 to 97.1, so the same paycheck buys less in Reading (ratio 1.14). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $247/mo ($2,964/yr) from $1,328 in Wildwood-The Villages to $1,575 in Reading.

Wildwood-The Villages still leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, the origin keeps the edge. Reading sits #268 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Wildwood-The Villages is #52/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $289 lower ($63,776 → $63,487). Labor-market size: 34,870 tracked jobs at origin vs 165,600 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Florida 62 (C, #23/51) vs Pennsylvania 65 (C, #18/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Wildwood-The Villages
Reading
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 85.4
RPP 97.1
Wildwood-The Villages
Rent (2BR)
$1,328/mo
$1,575/mo
Wildwood-The Villages
Wages
$63,776
$63,487
Wildwood-The Villages
Crime
210 per 100K
250 per 100K
Wildwood-The Villages
Schools
17.8:1
13.6:1
Reading
Childcare
$10,505/yr
N/A
Tie
Environment
2736 violations
5292 violations
Wildwood-The Villages

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 · Florida
62 C #23/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
67
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
12
Destination state · Pennsylvania
65 C #18/51
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 Wildwood-The Villages to see what you'd need to earn in Reading to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Reading
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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