Moving to Connecticut from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Pennsylvania to Connecticut — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to Connecticut, you would find that Connecticut is 22.6% more expensive than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $91,900 in Connecticut to maintain the same lifestyle. Philadelphia and Bridgeport are about 130 mi apart.
Is Connecticut cheaper than Pennsylvania?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 26.4% more
Groceries
pay 14.9% more
Transportation
pay 3.1% less
Housing
pay 52.8% more
Childcare
pay 3.5% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 16.5% more
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 Connecticut?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $91,900
To maintain the same standard of living in Connecticut
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 Connecticut cost about 18% more than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Pennsylvania to Connecticut.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Connecticut performs significantly better than Pennsylvania 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
Connecticut performs significantly 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 better than Connecticut across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Pennsylvania generally does better on infrastructure, though Connecticut leads in internet access.
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
Connecticut 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
Connecticut performs significantly 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 Connecticut vs Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | Bridgeport |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 42°/23°F (6°/-5°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 68°/49°F (20°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 80°/62°F (26°/16°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 53°/34°F (12°/1°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | Bridgeport |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 38°/20°F (3.1°/-6.9°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 41°/21°F (4.9°/-6.0°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 47°/29°F (8.6°/-1.7°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 59°/40°F (15.1°/4.2°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 68°/49°F (20.2°/9.6°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 78°/59°F (25.7°/15.1°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 83°/65°F (28.1°/18.3°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 82°/64°F (27.6°/17.7°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 75°/56°F (23.7°/13.1°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 63°/44°F (17.4°/6.5°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 54°/34°F (12.1°/1.3°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 43°/24°F (6.1°/-4.2°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Connecticut than Pennsylvania?
No — Connecticut is on average about 23% more expensive than Pennsylvania. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Connecticut?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $22,975 in Connecticut on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Connecticut safe?
Connecticut performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Connecticut compared to Pennsylvania?
Connecticut performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Connecticut compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in Bridgeport is 61°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. Bridgeport receives around 47.7 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
