Philadelphia, PA vs Salem, OR
Moving from Philadelphia to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,463 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Philadelphia vs Salem 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 $100,094 in Salem, OR (+$94).
Livability — Philadelphia, PA: 62 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($223 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Philadelphia, PA | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,968 | $19,536 | −$3,432 |
| Groceries | $4,909 | $5,239 | +$330 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,680 | +$240 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,704 | −$612 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $900 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $10,192 | $13,135 | +$2,943 |
| Total | $45,025 | $44,194 | −$831 |
Side by side
| Metric | Philadelphia, PA | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.4 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.12% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.8% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.82 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $390,463 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.5% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $223 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,914 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.61% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 29 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $65 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 44.1 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 23.1 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |