Philadelphia, PA → Pittsburgh, PA
You'd keep $75 more a month in Pittsburgh
+$900 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 962 households moved Philadelphia → Pittsburgh (avg AGI $74,082). 920 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,125 | $7,500 | −$625 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,264 | $1,980 | −$284 |
| Take-home pay | $5,861 | $5,520 | −$341 |
| Rent | $1,541 | $1,191 | −$350 |
| Getting around | $418 | $497 | +$79 |
| Groceries | $408 | $368 | −$40 |
| Healthcare | $459 | $414 | −$45 |
| Utilities | $255 | $230 | −$25 |
| Everything else | $357 | $322 | −$35 |
| Left over | $2,423 | $2,498 | +$75 |
To break even in Pittsburgh, you'd need to earn
$88,500
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
+$1,187
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 27.9% in Philadelphia, 26.4% in Pittsburgh.
More about Pittsburgh
Philadelphia, PA in full
East Coast density at half of Boston's rent, minus a 3.75% city wage tax.
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 → Philadelphia →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.