Pittsburgh, PA vs Palm Bay, FL
Moving from Pittsburgh to Palm Bay? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($231,356 → $344,841 median home) and taxes.
Pittsburgh vs Palm Bay 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 $106,986 in Palm Bay, FL (+$6,986).
Livability — Pittsburgh, PA: 70 · Palm Bay, FL: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,782 sqft in Pittsburgh vs 2,682 sqft in Palm Bay ($132 vs $186 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pittsburgh, PA | Palm Bay, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,324 | $23,040 | +$4,716 |
| Groceries | $4,915 | $4,813 | −$102 |
| Transportation | $3,440 | $4,800 | +$1,360 |
| Utilities | $2,316 | $1,656 | −$660 |
| Insurance | $1,200 | $4,200 | +$3,000 |
| Taxes | $8,069 | $4,459 | −$3,610 |
| Total | $38,264 | $42,968 | +$4,704 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pittsburgh, PA | Palm Bay, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.7 | 101.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.09% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.7% | 7.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.39 | $5.77 |
| Median home price | $231,356 | $344,841 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.2× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | -2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $132 | $186 |
| Median rent | $1,527 | $1,920 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.6% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.34% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.07% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.44% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,200 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 21.5 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.55 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 390 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 3 |