Moving to Pennsylvania from Minnesota
What to Expect
Considering a move from Minnesota to Pennsylvania? Here's how the two compare on cost, climate, safety, and more.
If you moved from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, you would find that Pennsylvania is 7.5% more expensive than Minnesota. A $75,000 salary in Minnesota would need to be roughly $80,600 in Pennsylvania to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Philadelphia averages 65°F vs 55°F in Minneapolis, making it significantly warmer. Minneapolis and Philadelphia are about 980 mi apart.
Is Pennsylvania cheaper than Minnesota?
How key spending categories compare
Restaurants
pay 3.9% less
Groceries
pay 4.1% more
Transportation
pay 1.3% more
Housing
pay 13.9% more
Childcare
pay 53.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.4% 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 → $80,600
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 2% less than cities in Minnesota.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
The numbers behind daily life in Pennsylvania compared to Minnesota.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Minnesota generally does better on safety, though Pennsylvania leads in property 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
Minnesota 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 generally does better on what about housing?, though Minnesota leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Minnesota performs better than Pennsylvania across all infrastructure metrics.
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
Minnesota 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
Minnesota 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 Minnesota
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Minneapolis | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 31°/15°F (0°/-10°C) | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 69°/48°F (20°/9°C) | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/59°F (26°/15°C) | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 42°/26°F (6°/-3°C) | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Minneapolis | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24°/8°F (-4.6°/-13.6°C) | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) |
| Feb | 29°/13°F (-1.7°/-10.7°C) | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) |
| Mar | 41°/24°F (5.2°/-4.3°C) | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) |
| Apr | 58°/37°F (14.3°/2.9°C) | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) |
| May | 69°/49°F (20.8°/9.4°C) | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) |
| Jun | 79°/59°F (26.0°/14.9°C) | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) |
| Jul | 83°/64°F (28.6°/17.8°C) | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) |
| Aug | 80°/62°F (26.9°/16.6°C) | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) |
| Sep | 72°/52°F (22.1°/11.3°C) | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) |
| Oct | 58°/40°F (14.4°/4.3°C) | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 41°/26°F (5.1°/-3.2°C) | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) |
| Dec | 27°/12°F (-2.7°/-10.9°C) | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Pennsylvania than Minnesota?
On average Pennsylvania is around 7% pricier than Minnesota, with notable variation by city.
How much money do I need to move to Pennsylvania?
Budget about $20,150 for 3 months in Pennsylvania (based on a $75,000 comparable annual salary), then add the one-off costs: movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Pennsylvania safe?
Minnesota generally does better on safety, though Pennsylvania leads in property crime rate.
How is healthcare in Pennsylvania compared to Minnesota?
Minnesota performs better than Pennsylvania across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Pennsylvania compared to Minnesota?
The average high temperature in Philadelphia is 65°F, compared to 55°F in Minneapolis. Philadelphia receives around 41.5 in of rainfall per year, while Minneapolis gets 30.6 in.
