Moving to Pennsylvania from Massachusetts
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania, you would find that Pennsylvania is 16.8% cheaper than Massachusetts. A $75,000 salary in Massachusetts would need to be roughly $62,400 in Pennsylvania to maintain the same lifestyle. Boston and Philadelphia are about 270 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Pennsylvania? Get a shortlist of towns in Pennsylvania that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Pennsylvania cheaper than Massachusetts?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 12.4% less
Groceries
pay 9.7% less
Transportation
pay 1.5% less
Housing
pay 32.9% less
Childcare
pay 2.4% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.6% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Pennsylvania?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $62,400
To maintain the same standard of living in Pennsylvania
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Pennsylvania cost about 23% less than cities in Massachusetts.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Massachusetts and Pennsylvania stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Massachusetts generally does better on safety, though Pennsylvania leads in violent crime rate.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Massachusetts performs better than Pennsylvania across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Massachusetts across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Massachusetts generally does better on infrastructure, though Pennsylvania leads in average commute.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Massachusetts generally does better on employment & economy, though Pennsylvania leads in unemployment rate.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Massachusetts performs better than Pennsylvania across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Pennsylvania vs Massachusetts
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Boston | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Boston | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) |
| Feb | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) |
| Mar | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) |
| Apr | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) |
| May | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) |
| Jun | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) |
| Jul | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) |
| Aug | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) |
| Sep | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) |
| Oct | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) |
| Dec | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Pennsylvania than Massachusetts?
Generally yes: Pennsylvania runs about 17% cheaper than Massachusetts on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Pennsylvania?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $15,600 in Pennsylvania for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Pennsylvania safe?
Massachusetts generally does better on safety, though Pennsylvania leads in violent crime rate.
How is healthcare in Pennsylvania compared to Massachusetts?
Massachusetts performs better than Pennsylvania across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Pennsylvania compared to Massachusetts?
The average high temperature in Philadelphia is 65°F, compared to 59°F in Boston. Philadelphia receives around 41.5 in of rainfall per year, while Boston gets 43.8 in.
