Allentown, PA vs Minneapolis, MN
Moving from Allentown to Minneapolis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($363,989 → $393,774 median home) and taxes.
Allentown vs Minneapolis at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Allentown, PA, you'd need about $105,483 in Minneapolis, MN (+$5,483).
Livability — Allentown, PA: 63 · Minneapolis, MN: 54 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,404 sqft in Allentown vs 2,285 sqft in Minneapolis ($208 vs $219 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Allentown, PA | Minneapolis, MN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,284 | $20,652 | −$1,632 |
| Groceries | $4,911 | $5,227 | +$316 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,375 | −$65 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,776 | −$540 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,200 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $10,058 | $16,345 | +$6,287 |
| Total | $44,209 | $49,575 | +$5,366 |
Side by side
| Metric | Allentown, PA | Minneapolis, MN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.9 | 104.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.48% | 3.90% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.63 | $5.93 |
| Median home price | $363,989 | $393,774 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $219 |
| Median rent | $1,857 | $1,721 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.10% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 9.85% |
| Property tax rate | 1.85% | 1.10% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.58% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $600 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 16.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $76 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $65 | $77 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $81 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 4 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 44.1 | 31.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 30.0 | 51.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |