Philadelphia, PA vs Albany, NY
Moving from Philadelphia to Albany? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $370,533 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Albany 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 Philadelphia, PA, you'd need about $95,911 in Albany, NY (−$4,089).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Albany, NY: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 2,159 sqft in Albany ($223 vs $232 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Albany, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $20,172 | −$2,796 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,868 | −$41 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,895 | +$455 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $3,180 | +$864 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,600 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $18,849 | +$8,657 |
| Total | $45,025 | $52,564 | +$7,539 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Albany, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 98.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 2.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 37 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $370,533 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 5.5% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $232 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,681 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 1.95% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |