Altoona vs Pittsburgh leftover
You'd keep $247 more a month in Pittsburgh
$2,528/mo leftover in Pittsburgh vs $2,281 in Altoona after tax and rent ($247 more). +$2,964 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Altoona leftover
$2,281
a month after tax and rent
Pittsburgh leftover
$2,528
+$247 vs Altoona
Compare Altoona to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Altoona.
Monthly gap
Altoona → Pittsburgh
$247
more / month in Pittsburgh
$2,528 in Pittsburgh · $2,281 in Altoona · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 142 households moved Altoona → Pittsburgh (avg AGI $46,373). 130 went the other way. The whole move →
+$247 / mo
| Per month | Altoona | Pittsburgh | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,792 | $7,503 | +$711 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,591 | $1,981 | +$390 |
| Take-home pay | $5,200 | $5,522 | +$321 |
| Rent | $847 | $1,163 | +$316 |
| Getting around | $617 | $497 | −$120 |
| Groceries | $401 | $368 | −$33 |
| Healthcare | $451 | $414 | −$37 |
| Utilities | $251 | $230 | −$21 |
| Everything else | $351 | $322 | −$29 |
| Left over | $2,281 | $2,528 | +$247 |
To break even in Pittsburgh, you'd need to earn
$85,500
Household gross, versus $81,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Altoona does now.
The tax difference alone
−$2,148
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.4% in Altoona, 26.4% in Pittsburgh.
More about Pittsburgh
Altoona, PA in full
A flat 3.07% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,008 and 179 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
Pittsburgh, PA in full
Real city density and a robotics job market, at Rust Belt prices.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Pittsburgh on Pittsburgh wages.
Pittsburgh → Altoona →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Pittsburgh than Altoona?
A one-bedroom is about $847 in Altoona versus $1,163 in Pittsburgh. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $247 a month higher in Pittsburgh. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Pittsburgh have state income tax?
Pittsburgh is in Pennsylvania, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 3.00%.
What changes if you move from Altoona to Pittsburgh?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Pennsylvania tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Altoona and Pittsburgh moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.