Philadelphia, PA vs Durham, NC
Moving from Philadelphia to Durham? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $414,340 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Durham 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 $95,100 in Durham, NC (−$4,900).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Durham, NC: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 2,413 sqft in Durham ($223 vs $207 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Durham, NC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $20,436 | −$2,532 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,840 | −$69 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,130 | −$310 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,752 | −$564 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $2,000 | +$800 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $9,397 | −$795 |
| Total | $45,025 | $41,555 | −$3,470 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Durham, NC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 97.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.03% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 17.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.54 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $414,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -1.9% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $207 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,703 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 6.98% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.87% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 16.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.20 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $65 | $78 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 400 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 44.1 | 46.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 23.1 | 5.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |