Allentown, PA vs Riverside, CA
Moving from Allentown to Riverside? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($363,989 → $585,378 median home) and taxes.
Allentown vs Riverside 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 $108,557 in Riverside, CA (+$8,557).
Livability — Allentown, PA: 63 · Riverside, CA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,404 sqft in Allentown vs 1,281 sqft in Riverside ($208 vs $390 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Allentown, PA | Riverside, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,284 | $30,228 | +$7,944 |
| Groceries | $4,911 | $5,098 | +$186 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $5,125 | +$1,685 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $3,804 | +$1,488 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,500 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $10,058 | $19,978 | +$9,920 |
| Total | $44,209 | $65,733 | +$21,523 |
Side by side
| Metric | Allentown, PA | Riverside, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.9 | 107.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.48% | 6.95% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.63 | $6.11 |
| Median home price | $363,989 | $585,378 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 7.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.0% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $208 | $390 |
| Median rent | $1,857 | $2,519 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.85% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 33 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $65 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 44.1 | 9.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 30.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 55% | 78% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |