Moving to Pennsylvania from Texas
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Texas to Pennsylvania — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Texas to Pennsylvania, you would find that Pennsylvania is 7.0% more expensive than Texas. A $75,000 salary in Texas would need to be roughly $80,200 in Pennsylvania to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Philadelphia averages 65°F vs 80°F in Houston, making it significantly cooler. Houston and Philadelphia are about 1,350 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 Texas?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 1.2% less
Groceries
pay 11.2% more
Transportation
pay 5.2% more
Housing
pay 5.4% more
Childcare
pay 41.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 6.1% 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 Pennsylvania?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $80,200
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 1% less than cities in Texas.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Texas 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 Texas 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
Pennsylvania generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Texas leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Texas across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Texas 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
Texas 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
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Texas 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 Texas
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Houston | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 67°/48°F (20°/9°C) | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 86°/67°F (30°/19°C) | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 93°/73°F (34°/23°C) | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 73°/53°F (23°/11°C) | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Houston | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63°/43°F (17.2°/6.2°C) | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) |
| Feb | 66°/47°F (19.1°/8.1°C) | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) |
| Mar | 73°/53°F (22.8°/11.4°C) | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) |
| Apr | 80°/59°F (26.4°/15.2°C) | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) |
| May | 86°/68°F (30.2°/19.8°C) | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) |
| Jun | 91°/73°F (33.0°/22.9°C) | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) |
| Jul | 94°/75°F (34.3°/23.9°C) | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) |
| Aug | 94°/75°F (34.7°/23.8°C) | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) |
| Sep | 90°/70°F (32.1°/21.0°C) | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) |
| Oct | 82°/61°F (27.8°/16.1°C) | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) |
| Nov | 72°/52°F (22.5°/11.2°C) | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) |
| Dec | 64°/45°F (17.9°/7.0°C) | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Pennsylvania than Texas?
Day-to-day costs in Pennsylvania run about 7% higher than Texas on average; specific cities can swing further.
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 $20,050 in Pennsylvania for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Pennsylvania safe?
Pennsylvania performs significantly better than Texas across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Pennsylvania compared to Texas?
Pennsylvania generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Texas leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Pennsylvania compared to Texas?
The average high temperature in Philadelphia is 65°F, compared to 80°F in Houston. Philadelphia receives around 41.5 in of rainfall per year, while Houston gets 49.8 in.
