Winston-Salem → Albany
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Winston-Salem to Albany is unfavorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 92.0 to 102.1 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $540/mo.
- +$4,017
- BLS median salary higher in Albany
- 365 to 335
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 15.8:1 to 17.6:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
- $3,152
- DOL infant care higher / yr in Albany
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
- + $4K higher median salary
Cons of Moving
- - 10% higher cost of living
- - $540/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More expensive childcare
Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 92.0 to 102.1, so the same paycheck buys less in Albany (ratio 1.11). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $540/mo ($6,480/yr) from $960 in Winston-Salem to $1,500 in Albany.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Albany sits #281 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Winston-Salem is #82/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Unfavorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $4,017 higher ($63,918 → $67,935). Labor-market size: 259,100 tracked jobs at origin vs 42,220 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors staying put: North Carolina scores 68 (C, #13/51) vs Oregon at 41 (F, #49/51). 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
- 68
- Property tax
- 66
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 30
- Income tax
- 62
- Property tax
- 64
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 14
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 Winston-Salem to see what you'd need to earn in Albany 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