Pittsburgh, PA vs Brownsville, TX
Moving from Pittsburgh to Brownsville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $207,150 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh vs Brownsville 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 $90,490 in Brownsville, TX (−$9,510).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Brownsville, TX: 78 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 5,071 sqft in Brownsville ($132 vs $99 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Brownsville, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $17,520 | −$804 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,647 | −$268 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,675 | +$235 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,836 | −$480 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $3,600 | +$2,400 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $4,718 | −$3,351 |
| Total | $38,264 | $35,996 | −$2,268 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Brownsville, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 85.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 5.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 0.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 61 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $4.88 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $207,150 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 4.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 1.7% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $99 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $1,460 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 1.69% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 38 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |