Pittsburgh, PA vs Modesto, CA
Moving from Pittsburgh to Modesto? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $468,302 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh vs Modesto 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 $111,004 in Modesto, CA (+$11,004).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Modesto, CA: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 1,602 sqft in Modesto ($132 vs $312 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Modesto, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $24,624 | +$6,300 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $5,247 | +$332 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $5,125 | +$1,685 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $3,804 | +$1,488 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $1,500 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $19,239 | +$11,170 |
| Total | $38,264 | $59,539 | +$21,275 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Modesto, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 105.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 8.16% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 3.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.98 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $468,302 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | -0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $312 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $2,052 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 0.73% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $82 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $65 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.6 | 13.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 44.1 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 45% | 75% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 5 |