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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. We ranked 3 cities in Pennsylvania for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Philadelphia leads: rent $1,734/mo, index 98, population 1,550,542.
#1 Ranked: Philadelphia — cost index 98, rent $1,734/mo, income $60,698
Singles scoring: rent $1,734/mo (solo housing), cost index 98, population 1,550,542 — livability on one income
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Living alone means bearing 100% of every bill. We ranked 3 cities in Pennsylvania for singles, weighting rent, overall costs, and city size. Philadelphia leads: rent $1,734/mo, index 98, population 1,550,542.
Dive into Philadelphia's numbers: cost index 98 (14 points below national average), rent $1,734/month, income $60,698, and a home price of $229,411. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 90, while Healthcare runs 101. As a major city with 1,550,542 residents, amenities and job markets are robust.
The other side of the coin: The 3 cities we track in Pennsylvania paint a clearly affordable picture. Average cost index: 98. 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.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia | 98 | $1,734 | Details |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 95 | $1,516 | Details |
| 3 | Allentown | 101 | $1,699 | Details |
1,550,542 residents · Pennsylvania
The #1 spot goes to Philadelphia, and the breakdown explains why. Renters here pay $1,734/month — saving renters $1,932 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 90, keeping costs manageable. The weak spot? Healthcare at 101. The 34% rent-to-income ratio is a pressure point — for median earners, housing takes more than recommended (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
303,255 residents · Pennsylvania
A closer look at Pittsburgh: the cost index of 95 breaks down to a Utilities index of 87 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 98 (weakest). Median rent is $1,516/month — 20% below the national median — while household income sits at $64,137, meaning locals spend about 28% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
124,880 residents · Pennsylvania
A closer look at Allentown: the cost index of 101 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — breaks down to a Utilities index of 93 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 104 (weakest). Median rent is $1,699/month — 10% below the national median — while household income sits at $53,403, meaning locals spend about 38% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median (though the trend is moving in the right direction).
Our persona scoring model weights cost, income, rent, healthcare, taxes, and city size based on what matters most to singles. Each factor scores 10-25 points out of a 100-point composite. The guide ranks every tracked city in Pennsylvania by this personalized metric. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Philadelphia ranks #1 in Pennsylvania for this analysis with a cost index of 98 and median income of $60,698.
Philadelphia scores highest for singles due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,734/mo, and competitive median income of $60,698.
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.
Philadelphia (ranked #1) has a cost index of 98 and rent of $1,734/mo, while Allentown (ranked #3) has a cost index of 101 and rent of $1,699/mo — a 3-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 Philadelphia is $1,734/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $161 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Philadelphia is $229,411, which is 3.8× 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.