Dallas, TX vs Lancaster, PA
Moving from Dallas to Lancaster? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($366,823 → $388,207 median home) and taxes.
Dallas vs Lancaster 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 Dallas, TX, you'd need about $94,403 in Lancaster, PA (−$5,597).
Livability — Dallas, TX: 67 · Lancaster, PA: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,862 sqft in Dallas vs 2,254 sqft in Lancaster ($175 vs $222 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Dallas, TX | Lancaster, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,136 | $18,312 | −$1,824 |
| Groceries | $5,182 | $4,915 | −$267 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,440 | −$235 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $2,316 | +$480 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,200 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $8,136 | $9,202 | +$1,066 |
| Total | $42,565 | $39,385 | −$3,180 |
Side by side
| Metric | Dallas, TX | Lancaster, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 96.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.62% | 3.38% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 3.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.51 |
| Median home price | $366,823 | $388,207 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.3% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $175 | $222 |
| Median rent | $1,678 | $1,526 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 1.76% | 1.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 24 |
| 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) | 38.3 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.7 | 23.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 61% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |