Brownsville, TX vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Brownsville to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($207,150 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Brownsville vs Philadelphia 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 Brownsville, TX, you'd need about $119,445 in Philadelphia, PA (+$19,445).
Livability — Brownsville, TX: 78 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,071 sqft in Brownsville vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($99 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Brownsville, TX | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,520 | $22,968 | +$5,448 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,909 | +$262 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,440 | −$235 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,316 | +$480 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,200 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $4,718 | $10,192 | +$5,474 |
| Total | $35,996 | $45,025 | +$9,029 |
Side by side
| Metric | Brownsville, TX | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.7 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.4% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.88 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $207,150 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.7% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $99 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,460 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 1.69% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $52 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $134 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $83 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 32.4 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 23.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 65% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |