Pittsburgh, PA vs Atlantic City, NJ
Moving from Pittsburgh to Atlantic City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $384,211 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh vs Atlantic City 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 Pittsburgh, PA, you'd need about $104,434 in Atlantic City, NJ (+$4,434).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Atlantic City, NJ: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 2,473 sqft in Atlantic City ($132 vs $202 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Atlantic City, NJ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $25,812 | +$7,488 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,888 | −$27 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,710 | +$270 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $2,544 | +$228 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,300 | +$100 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $19,743 | +$11,674 |
| Total | $38,264 | $57,997 | +$19,733 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Atlantic City, NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 98.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 8.29% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 0.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 35 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.63 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $384,211 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 5.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 3.9% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $202 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $2,151 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 13.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 6.60% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 10.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 2.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 23.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 23 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |