Los Angeles, CA vs Lancaster, PA
Moving from Los Angeles to Lancaster? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($968,608 → $388,207 median home) and taxes.
Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles, CA, you'd need about $84,318 in Lancaster, PA (−$15,682).
Livability — Los Angeles, CA: 42 · Lancaster, PA: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 774 sqft in Los Angeles vs 2,254 sqft in Lancaster ($646 vs $222 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Los Angeles, CA | Lancaster, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $34,908 | $18,312 | −$16,596 |
| Groceries | $5,354 | $4,915 | −$439 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,440 | −$1,685 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $2,316 | −$1,488 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $1,200 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $21,708 | $9,202 | −$12,506 |
| Total | $72,399 | $39,385 | −$33,014 |
Side by side
| Metric | Los Angeles, CA | Lancaster, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 114.7 | 96.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.59% | 3.38% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -1.1% | 3.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 80 | 50 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.53 | $5.51 |
| Median home price | $968,608 | $388,207 |
| Home price ÷ income | 10.9× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.3% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $646 | $222 |
| Median rent | $2,909 | $1,526 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.69% | 1.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 3 |