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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Pennsylvania is a genuine bargain: 3 of the 3 cities in this ranking come in below the national cost-of-living average. Pittsburgh leads at an index of 88 with rent at just $1,516/month — 20% less than the $1,895 national median. Here are the numbers, sourced from federal data updated in 2026.
303,255 residents · Pennsylvania
Here's Pittsburgh by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And from what we can tell, cost index: 88. Rent: $1,516/month. Income: $64,137/year. Home price: $230,723. Population: 303,255. The strongest category is Housing at 88; the most expensive is Healthcare at 98. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $4,548 per year vs. the national median. If two cities have the same income, this cost gap is the tiebreaker (which, to be fair, is a metric that favors smaller cities).
1,550,542 residents · Pennsylvania
Why Philadelphia ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 101 on the cost index, residents save roughly 10% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,734/month while the median household pulls in $60,698/year. The Healthcare category is particularly strong at 100, though Housing (101) lags behind. Home prices average $229,411 — $237,959 below the national median.
124,880 residents · Pennsylvania
Why Allentown ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 99 on the cost index, residents save roughly 12% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,699/month while the median household pulls in $53,403/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 99, though Healthcare (100) lags behind. Home prices average $304,235 — $163,135 below the national median.
#1 Ranked: Pittsburgh — cost index 88, rent $1,516/mo, income $64,137
Pittsburgh rent up 3% over the past year
3 of 3 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 111
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 88 | $1,516 | Details |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 101 | $1,734 | Details |
| 3 | Allentown | 99 | $1,699 | Details |
Pennsylvania is a genuine bargain: 3 of the 3 cities in this ranking come in below the national cost-of-living average. Pittsburgh leads at an index of 88 with rent at just $1,516/month — 20% less than the $1,895 national median. Here are the numbers, sourced from federal data updated in 2026.
It lines up with what you'd expect.
Why Pittsburgh ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. And in most cases, at 88 on the cost index, residents save roughly 23% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,516/month while the median household pulls in $64,137/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 88, though Healthcare (98) lags behind. Home prices average $230,723 — $236,647 below the national median.
The trade-off becomes clearer when you add healthcare into the mix. The 3 cities we track in Pennsylvania paint a clearly affordable picture. Average cost index: 96. Median rent: $1,650/month. Household income: $59,413. Pennsylvania is known for Philadelphia's corridor versus Appalachian values — and the data backs that reputation convincingly.
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers.
Pittsburgh ranks #1 in Pennsylvania for this analysis with a cost index of 88 and median income of $64,137.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
Pittsburgh (ranked #1) has a cost index of 88 and rent of $1,516/mo, while Allentown (ranked #3) has a cost index of 99 and rent of $1,699/mo — a 11-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in Pittsburgh is $1,516/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $379 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Pittsburgh is $230,723, which is 3.6× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Pennsylvania has a 3.07% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.34%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.36%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.