Pittsburgh, PA vs Buffalo, NY
Moving from Pittsburgh to Buffalo? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $288,316 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh vs Buffalo 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 $100,227 in Buffalo, NY (+$227).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Buffalo, NY: 61 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 2,775 sqft in Buffalo ($132 vs $180 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Buffalo, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $17,328 | −$996 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,868 | −$47 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $3,895 | +$455 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $3,180 | +$864 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,600 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $18,192 | +$10,123 |
| Total | $38,264 | $49,063 | +$10,799 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Buffalo, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 94.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 5.10% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 2.4% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 44 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $288,316 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 4.8% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $180 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $1,444 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 2.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.45 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 16 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |