Moving to New York from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Pennsylvania to New York — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to New York, you would find that New York is 18.1% more expensive than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $88,600 in New York to maintain the same lifestyle. Philadelphia and New York City are about 80 mi apart.
Is New York cheaper than Pennsylvania?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 13.3% more
Groceries
pay 9.2% more
Transportation
pay 11.8% more
Housing
pay 35.3% more
Childcare
pay 4.1% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.2% 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 New York?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $88,600
To maintain the same standard of living in New York
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 New York cost about 23% more than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Pennsylvania and New York 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 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 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 New York 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 New York 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
Pennsylvania generally does better on employment & economy, though New York leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
New York 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 New York vs Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 43°/30°F (6°/-1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 70°/54°F (21°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 81°/66°F (27°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 54°/41°F (12°/5°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | New York City |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 38°/27°F (3.5°/-2.8°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 42°/29°F (5.3°/-1.7°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 50°/35°F (9.8°/1.8°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 61°/45°F (16.2°/7.1°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 71°/54°F (21.6°/12.2°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 79°/64°F (26.3°/17.6°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 84°/69°F (28.9°/20.4°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 83°/68°F (28.1°/19.9°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 75°/61°F (24.0°/16.0°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 64°/50°F (17.7°/10.0°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 54°/42°F (12.1°/5.3°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 43°/32°F (6.1°/0.0°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in New York than Pennsylvania?
Day-to-day costs in New York run about 18% higher than Pennsylvania on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to New York?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $22,150 in New York for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is New York safe?
Pennsylvania performs better than New York across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in New York compared to Pennsylvania?
New York performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in New York compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in New York City is 62°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. New York City receives around 49.9 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
