Philadelphia, PA vs Manchester, NH
Moving from Philadelphia to Manchester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $526,340 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Manchester 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 $103,184 in Manchester, NH (+$3,184).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Manchester, NH: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 1,710 sqft in Manchester ($223 vs $292 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Manchester, NH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $25,632 | +$2,664 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,935 | +$27 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $2,955 | −$485 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $2,940 | +$624 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,000 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $6,681 | −$3,511 |
| Total | $45,025 | $44,143 | −$881 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Manchester, NH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 105.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 3.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 37 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $6.01 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $526,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $292 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $2,136 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 1.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.80% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 27.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 120 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 81 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |