Brownsville, TX vs Pittsburgh, PA
Moving from Brownsville to Pittsburgh? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($207,150 → $231,356 median home) and taxes.
Brownsville vs Pittsburgh 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 $110,510 in Pittsburgh, PA (+$10,510).
Livability — Brownsville, TX: 78 · Pittsburgh, PA: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,071 sqft in Brownsville vs 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh ($99 vs $132 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Brownsville, TX | Pittsburgh, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,520 | $18,324 | +$804 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,915 | +$268 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,440 | −$235 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,316 | +$480 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,200 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $4,718 | $8,069 | +$3,351 |
| Total | $35,996 | $38,264 | +$2,268 |
Side by side
| Metric | Brownsville, TX | Pittsburgh, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 85.7 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 5.09% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 61 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.88 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $207,150 | $231,356 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 3.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.7% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $99 | $132 |
| Median rent | $1,460 | $1,527 |
| 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% | 1.44% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 27 |
| 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |