Palm Bay, FL vs Pittsburgh, PA
Moving from Palm Bay to Pittsburgh? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($344,841 → $231,356 median home) and taxes.
Palm Bay 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 Palm Bay, FL, you'd need about $93,470 in Pittsburgh, PA (−$6,530).
Livability — Palm Bay, FL: 66 · Pittsburgh, PA: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,682 sqft in Palm Bay vs 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh ($186 vs $132 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Palm Bay, FL | Pittsburgh, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,040 | $18,324 | −$4,716 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $4,915 | +$102 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,440 | −$1,360 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $2,316 | +$660 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $1,200 | −$3,000 |
| Taxes | $4,459 | $8,069 | +$3,610 |
| Total | $42,968 | $38,264 | −$4,704 |
Side by side
| Metric | Palm Bay, FL | Pittsburgh, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.3 | 94.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 5.09% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.5% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.77 | $5.39 |
| Median home price | $344,841 | $231,356 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.8× | 3.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.2% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $186 | $132 |
| Median rent | $1,920 | $1,527 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.72% | 1.44% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.55 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |