Fargo, ND vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Fargo to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,854 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Fargo 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 Fargo, ND, you'd need about $114,840 in Philadelphia, PA (+$14,840).
Livability — Fargo, ND: 68 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,592 sqft in Fargo vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($193 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fargo, ND | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,872 | $22,968 | +$9,096 |
| Groceries | $4,850 | $4,909 | +$59 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,440 | +$310 |
| Utilities | $1,332 | $2,316 | +$984 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,200 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $8,083 | $10,192 | +$2,109 |
| Total | $33,367 | $45,025 | +$11,658 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fargo, ND | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.11% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.2% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $327,854 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.2% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $193 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,156 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.8% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.04% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 1.20% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 18 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.3 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $70 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 290 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | -2 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 22.6 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 50.0 | 23.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |