

Dallas vs Philadelphia
$612/mo less in Philadelphia
DallasPhiladelphiaAbout 1,295 miles apart, a flight.
- Philadelphia costs you more
- Rent under 30% of pay
Same paycheck, two cities. $2,427/mo in Philadelphia. $3,039/mo in Dallas. −$7,344 a year.
Dallas
$3,039
left each month
Philadelphia
$2,427
−$612 vs Dallas
Compare
Same paycheck, another city.
Next
In 2022-2023, 354 households moved Dallas → Philadelphia (avg AGI $79,003). 998 went the other way. The whole move →
−$612 / mo
See full breakdown
| Per month | Dallas | Philadelphia | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,958 | $8,114 | +$156 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,661 | $2,260 | +$600 |
| Take-home pay | $6,298 | $5,854 | −$444 |
| Rent | $1,258 | $1,530 | +$272 |
| Getting around | $580 | $418 | −$162 |
| Groceries | $392 | $408 | +$16 |
| Healthcare | $441 | $459 | +$18 |
| Utilities | $245 | $255 | +$10 |
| Everything else | $343 | $357 | +$14 |
| Left over | $3,039 | $2,427 | −$612 |
Salary to match Dallas
$109,000
Gross pay in Philadelphia that leaves the same amount as $95,500 in Dallas.
Tax difference
−$6,641
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 20.9% in Dallas, 27.9% in Philadelphia.
More about Philadelphia
Dallas, TX in full
No income tax, endless new construction, and a 1.5% property tax bill.
Philadelphia, PA in full
East Coast density at half of Boston's rent, minus a 3.75% city wage tax.
The other way
Start in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia → Dallas →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Philadelphia than Dallas?
For one adult in a one-bedroom, Philadelphia leaves about $612 less a month. A one-bedroom is about $1,258 in Dallas and $1,530 in Philadelphia.
Does Philadelphia have state income tax?
Philadelphia is in Pennsylvania, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 3.75%.
What changes if you move from Dallas to Philadelphia?
The paycheck is taxed in Pennsylvania. Rent stays at the same bedroom count. What you keep is the difference.
Left over each month is take-home pay minus rent and the rest of the bills. The gap between Dallas and Philadelphia changes with the job, remote or local pay, and bedrooms. How we figure this · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Estimate, not a quote. How we figure this.