Cost of Living in Pennsylvania

(Last Updated – 03/2023)

It’s not called the Keystone State for nothing: In the world of U.S. history, Pennsylvania is one of the most important states in the country. The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address were all written here. Philadelphia was once the nation’s capital.

Fast-forward a couple of centuries and Pennsylvania still has plenty of appeal, with a population of more than 12.9 million — with each and every one of its counties experiencing growth over the last decade.

But how much does it cost to live in the land of to-die-for cheesesteaks and rolling green hillsides? Let’s take a closer look.

What’s the Average Cost of Living in Pennsylvania?

Average Cost of Living in Pennsylvania: $49,040 per year

On a cost of living level, Pennsylvania is about midway down. According to the 2022 MERIC cost of living
index , Pennsylvania is in 27th position, meaning it’s just slightly more expensive than Minnesota and slightly less expensive than Idaho.

If you’re looking to live in the Northeast, though, Pennsylvania may just be your best bet: By the same set of data, neighboring New York is, unsurprisingly, 48th on the list, and New Jersey, in 38th place, isn’t doing a whole lot better.

But what does that look like in practice?

According to 2021 data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis , the total personal expenditure in Pennsylvania is $49,040 on average, broken down as follows:

Category	Average Annual Per-Capita Cost in Pennsylvania
Housing and Utilities	$7,886
Health Care	$8,641
Food and Beverage (non-restaurant)	$3,491
Gas and Energy Goods	$1,240
All Other Personal Expenditures	$27,782

Next, we’ll look into the specifics of each of those categories.

Housing Costs in Pennsylvania

Average Housing Costs in Pennsylvania: $872 to $1,259 per month

When it comes to the cost of keeping a roof over your head, Pennsylvania is doing pretty well on a nationwide level. According to Zillow, the typical home value in the commonwealth was $239,958 in February 2023.

The median sale price of an existing home in the United States, for comparison, was $359,000 the previous month, per the National Association of Realtors®. And the median price of new homes was $427,500, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported.

Of course, how much you pay for housing monthly will depend on what kind of housing you need — and where.

Here are the median monthly rent payments and mortgage cost (U.S. Census, 2021) in Pennsylvania, as well as the typical home price by major metro (Zillow, January 2023.)

•  Median monthly mortgage cost: $1,569

•  Median studio rent: $878

•  Median one-bedroom rent: $872

•  Median two-bedroom rent: $1,072

•  Median three-bedroom rent: $1,156

•  Median four-bedroom rent: $1,241

•  Median five-bedroom (or more) rent: $1,259

•  Median gross rent: $1,036

Recommended: Philadelphia Housing Market: Trends and Prices

Pennsylvania City	Typical Home Price
Philadelphia	$321,850
Pittsburgh	$193,211
Allentown	$292,027
Harrisburg	$249,782
Scranton	$172,947
Lancaster	$312,872
York	$252,170
Reading	$252,976
Erie	$171,779
East Stroudsburg	$274,827
State College	$303,426
Chambersburg	$242,237
Lebanon	$255,320
Pottsville	$112,429
Johnstown	$90,986
Altoona	$148,181
Williamsport	$193,837
Gettysburg	$276,396
Sunbury	$118,097
New Castle	$139,626

Utility Costs in Pennsylvania

Average Utility Costs in Pennsylvania: $357 per month

Once you’ve got that roof taken care of, you still have to supply it with power, water, possibly natural gas, and definitely cable and internet. (You don’t want to miss that Eagles game!)

Here’s how the average utility bill breaks down in Pennsylvania.

Utility	Average Pennsylvania Bill
Electricity	$117
Gas	$101
Cable & Internet	$108
Water	$31

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price, 2021; Inspirecleanenergy.com; DoxoInsights, U.S. Cable & Internet Market Size and Household Spending Report 2022; and Rentcafe.com, What Is the Average Water Bill?

Groceries & Food

Average Grocery & Food Costs in Pennsylvania: $278 per person, per month

Man (or woman, or child) can’t subsist on cheesesteak alone, tempting though it may be.

So how much does it cost to keep a family in groceries in Pennsylvania?

Remember that above, we mentioned the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ $3,491 estimate for annual per-capita food and beverage expenditures. When you divide that figure by 12 months, you get about $291 per person — or $582 for a couple, or $1,164 for a family of four. (Of course, these numbers are not exact, and don’t account for the fact that children tend to eat less than adults, for example.)

Thanks to the Council for Community and Economic Research’s 2022 Cost of Living Index, we have additional data to clarify the cost of food in Pennsylvania even further. (Surprise, surprise: Where you are in the state matters.)

Here’s how the grocery items index breaks down in different Pennsylvania metros.

Pennsylvania City	Grocery Items Index
Allentown	98.0
Reading	100.6
Scranton	102.6
Wilkes-Barre	103.5
Pittsburgh	107.9
Philadelphia	117.4

Transportation

Average Transportation Costs in Pennsylvania: $4,470 to $12,675 per year

Even as more and more of us work from home, if only thanks to the pandemic, many more still commute to work every day — not to mention schlepping the kids to and from school, music lessons, or football practice.

While your specific annual transportation costs will vary greatly depending on what your family and situation look like, MIT’s Living Wage Calculator offers some excellent data on the cost of transportation in each state, including Pennsylvania, based on the first quarter of 2023:

Family Makeup	Average Annual Transportation Cost
One adult, no children	$4,470
Two working adults, no children	$8,040
Two working adults, three children	$12,675

Health Care

Average Health Care Costs in Pennsylvania: $8,641 per year

In Pennsylvania — as in all other U.S. states — health care isn’t free. In fact, Pennsylvanians are apt to spend slightly more on health care than housing each year, about $8,641 per person, according to averages collected in Bureau of Economic Analysis 2021 Personal Expenditures by State data.

That said, this figure will vary greatly depending on what kind of health insurance coverage you have and how often you need to seek medical attention. Your costs could be considerably lower — or higher.

Child Care

Average Child Care Costs in Pennsylvania: $904 to $1,437 or more per child, per month

Keeping the kiddos looked after is always a major line item in the monthly budget for parents, and those raising children in Pennsylvania will need to plan carefully to afford those costs.

Although your exact expenditures can vary greatly depending on your child care plan, here are some average figures per costofchildcare.org :

Type of Child Care	Average Cost Per Month, Per Child
Infant Classroom	$1,437
Toddler Classroom	$1,141
Preschooler Classroom	$904
Home-based Child Care	$1,028

Need help finding the right child care program for your family? The Pennsylvania Department of Education offers a helpful, searchable online database of child care providers.

Taxes

Income Tax Rate in Pennsylvania: 3.07%

We all have federal income taxes to contend with — but your state income tax rate can vary significantly depending on where in the country you are.

Pennsylvania, unlike many other states in the nation, levies a single-rate tax, which means everyone pays the same rate, as long as they’re earning taxable income. According to the Tax Foundation’s State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2023 that rate is 3.07% — which is pretty low, on a nationwide level.

That said, keep in mind that the Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6%, with additional percentages added in Allegheny County and Philadelphia.

Miscellaneous Costs

Enough of the pedestrian stuff. How much does it cost to have fun in Pennsylvania?

Now that we’ve covered all the must-haves, let’s talk about the fun stuff. Pennsylvanians spend $27,782 per year on costs other than housing, health care, groceries, and gas, as estimated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis 2021 Personal Expenditures by State. Here’s where some of those funds might be going (costs accurate as of March 2023):

•  A one-day ticket to Hersheypark, the candy-themed amusement destination that draws thousands of visitors to Hershey, Pennsylvania: $84.95 per person (though discounts are regularly available).

•  Admission to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, chartered all the way back in 1876 and boasting more than 240,000 art objects: $25 per person, which gets you two days of admission to both the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum.

•  A tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous and beautiful Fallingwater, a residential structure situated in the forested countryside southeast of Pittsburgh: $25 per person for a guided grounds tour, or $15 for a self-guided experience (though other, more expensive options are available, some of which include meals).

•  A cheesesteak at Steve’s Prince of Steaks, ranked the No. 1 spot for a Philly cheesesteak in September 2021 by Eater: $12.97 (which includes one type of cheese, though you may want to load up on extras for additional charges).

The good news is, there are plenty of free or nearly free diversions to tackle in Pennsylvania: The Liberty Bell, a must-see for any American, is open daily to visitors from 9 am to 5 pm and doesn’t require a ticket, and the same is true of the Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site. If you’re looking for a rugged adventure, consider heading west toward Pine Creek Gorge, sometimes known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. This impressive natural landscape is loved by outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes, and there’s no cost to enjoy its bike paths and hiking trails.

Recommended: What Are the Average Monthly Expenses for One Person?

How Much Money Do You Need to Live Comfortably in Pennsylvania?

Definitions of “comfortable” vary, so it’s impossible to say how much money you’d need to earn to feel comfortable in Pennsylvania (or anywhere else, for that matter).

While everyone’s definition of “comfortable” is different, on a nationwide level, Pennsylvania might be a relatively easy place to get by on a moderate salary. Case in point: Its U.S. News and World Report Affordability Ranking is relatively friendly at 15, and, as mentioned above, MERIC slots it at a middling 27th in the nation.

If you’re looking to get by as cheaply as possible in Pennsylvania, though — or anywhere, for that matter — a lot of it has to do with where you settle.

What Cities Have Low Cost of Living in Pennsylvania?

Remember the Council for Community and Economic Research’s 2022 Cost of Living Index we used to rank grocery costs?

Well, the council ranks major metros by overall cost of living, too. Here are two of the least expensive communities in Pennsylvania to live in.

Wilkes-Barre

With a cost of living index of 91.2 (compared with Philadelphia’s 104.5), Wilkes-Barre might be a good option for those comfortable with a small to midsize city (its population hovers around 44,500) with all the basic urban resources you need. Scenically situated along the Susquehanna River and only minutes from the Lands at Hillside Farms, a working, educational dairy farm the kids will adore and adults will get a kick out of, too, this inexpensive town has a lot going for it.

Scranton

Wave hi to Jim and Pam from this accidentally famous northeastern Pennsylvania town, whose cost of living index is just slightly higher than the other two town on this list, at 92.8. Along with being the setting of The Office, Scranton is also known for the Steamtown National Historic Site, which educates visitors on the history of locomotion and features preserved and restored trains more than a century old.