Philadelphia, PA vs Merced, CA
Moving from Philadelphia to Merced? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $419,171 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Merced 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 $97,318 in Merced, CA (−$2,682).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Merced, CA: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 1,790 sqft in Merced ($223 vs $279 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Merced, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $23,700 | +$732 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $5,247 | +$338 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $5,125 | +$1,685 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $3,804 | +$1,488 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,500 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $18,715 | +$8,523 |
| Total | $45,025 | $58,091 | +$13,066 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Merced, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 10.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 52 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $419,171 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $279 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,975 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.68% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 4.85 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 45 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |