Moving to Pennsylvania from New York
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from New York to Pennsylvania — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from New York to Pennsylvania, you would find that Pennsylvania is 15.4% cheaper than New York. A $75,000 salary in New York would need to be roughly $63,500 in Pennsylvania to maintain the same lifestyle. New York City and Philadelphia are about 80 mi apart.
Is Pennsylvania cheaper than New York?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 11.8% less
Groceries
pay 8.4% less
Transportation
pay 10.5% less
Housing
pay 26.1% less
Childcare
pay 4.3% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 15.4% 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 → $63,500
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 19% less than cities in New York.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How New York 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
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than New York across all safety metrics.
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
New York 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 New York across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
New York 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
New York 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
New York 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 New York
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | New York City | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 43°/30°F (6°/-1°C) | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 70°/54°F (21°/12°C) | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 81°/66°F (27°/19°C) | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 54°/41°F (12°/5°C) | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | New York City | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38°/27°F (3.5°/-2.8°C) | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) |
| Feb | 42°/29°F (5.3°/-1.7°C) | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) |
| Mar | 50°/35°F (9.8°/1.8°C) | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) |
| Apr | 61°/45°F (16.2°/7.1°C) | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) |
| May | 71°/54°F (21.6°/12.2°C) | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) |
| Jun | 79°/64°F (26.3°/17.6°C) | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) |
| Jul | 84°/69°F (28.9°/20.4°C) | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) |
| Aug | 83°/68°F (28.1°/19.9°C) | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) |
| Sep | 75°/61°F (24.0°/16.0°C) | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) |
| Oct | 64°/50°F (17.7°/10.0°C) | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 54°/42°F (12.1°/5.3°C) | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) |
| Dec | 43°/32°F (6.1°/0.0°C) | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Pennsylvania than New York?
Generally yes: Pennsylvania runs about 15% cheaper than New York 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 $15,875 in Pennsylvania for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Pennsylvania safe?
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than New York across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Pennsylvania compared to New York?
New York performs better than Pennsylvania across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Pennsylvania compared to New York?
The average high temperature in Philadelphia is 65°F, compared to 62°F in New York City. Philadelphia receives around 41.5 in of rainfall per year, while New York City gets 49.9 in.
