Philadelphia, PA vs Hagerstown, MD
Moving from Philadelphia to Hagerstown? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $324,997 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Hagerstown 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 $93,159 in Hagerstown, MD (−$6,841).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Hagerstown, MD: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 2,922 sqft in Hagerstown ($223 vs $171 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Hagerstown, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $19,152 | −$3,816 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,805 | −$104 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,685 | +$245 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $2,388 | +$72 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,400 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $9,558 | −$634 |
| Total | $45,025 | $40,988 | −$4,037 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Hagerstown, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 95.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.84% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 13.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.43 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $324,997 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 2.6% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $171 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,596 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.70% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 27 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |