Philadelphia vs Allentown leftover
Moving to Allentown costs you $199 a month
$2,235/mo leftover in Allentown vs $2,434 in Philadelphia after tax and rent ($199 less). −$2,388 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Philadelphia leftover
$2,434
a month after tax and rent
Allentown leftover
$2,235
−$199 vs Philadelphia
Compare Philadelphia to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Philadelphia.
Monthly gap
Philadelphia → Allentown
$199
less / month in Philadelphia
$2,235 in Allentown · $2,434 in Philadelphia · 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, 2,110 households moved Philadelphia → Allentown (avg AGI $77,285). 2,155 went the other way. The whole move →
−$199 / mo
| Per month | Philadelphia | Allentown | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,125 | $7,516 | −$609 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,264 | $1,835 | −$429 |
| Take-home pay | $5,861 | $5,680 | −$180 |
| Rent | $1,530 | $1,431 | −$99 |
| Getting around | $418 | $559 | +$141 |
| Groceries | $408 | $401 | −$7 |
| Healthcare | $459 | $451 | −$8 |
| Utilities | $255 | $251 | −$4 |
| Everything else | $357 | $351 | −$6 |
| Left over | $2,434 | $2,235 | −$199 |
To break even in Allentown, you'd need to earn
$94,000
Household gross, versus $97,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Philadelphia does now.
The tax difference alone
+$2,979
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 27.9% in Philadelphia, 24.4% in Allentown.
More about Allentown
Philadelphia, PA in full
East Coast density at half of Boston's rent, minus a 3.75% city wage tax.
Allentown, PA in full
A flat 3.07% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,704 and 188 sunny days; commutes average 28 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Allentown on Allentown wages.
Allentown → Philadelphia →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Allentown than Philadelphia?
A one-bedroom is about $1,530 in Philadelphia versus $1,431 in Allentown. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $199 a month lower in Allentown. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Allentown have state income tax?
Allentown is in Pennsylvania, which taxes wage income, plus a local wage tax of 1.00%.
What changes if you move from Philadelphia to Allentown?
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 Philadelphia and Allentown 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.