Philadelphia, PA vs New Haven, CT
Moving from Philadelphia to New Haven? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $408,096 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs New Haven 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 $102,926 in New Haven, CT (+$2,926).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · New Haven, CT: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 2,328 sqft in New Haven ($223 vs $215 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | New Haven, CT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $26,232 | +$3,264 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,930 | +$21 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,720 | +$280 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $3,480 | +$1,164 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,600 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $15,543 | +$5,351 |
| Total | $45,025 | $55,505 | +$10,480 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | New Haven, CT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 105.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 6.36% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 41 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.99 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $408,096 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 5.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 4.8% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $215 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $2,186 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 15.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 6.35% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 6.99% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 2.17% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.07% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 32.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.40 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 150 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 18 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |