Philadelphia, PA vs Richmond, VA
Moving from Philadelphia to Richmond? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $397,705 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Richmond 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 $96,067 in Richmond, VA (−$3,933).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Richmond, VA: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 2,514 sqft in Richmond ($223 vs $199 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Richmond, VA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $21,156 | −$1,812 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $4,853 | −$55 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,080 | −$360 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,872 | −$444 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,500 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $10,041 | −$151 |
| Total | $45,025 | $42,502 | −$2,523 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Richmond, VA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 4.78% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.60 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $397,705 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 2.3% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $199 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,763 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 12.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 5.73% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.76% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 3.97% |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 17.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 87 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 28 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |