Salem, OR vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Salem to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Salem vs Philadelphia 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $99,906 in Philadelphia, PA (−$94).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($268 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $22,968 | +$3,432 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,909 | −$330 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,440 | −$240 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $2,316 | +$612 |
| Insurance | $900 | $1,200 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $10,192 | −$2,943 |
| Total | $44,194 | $45,025 | +$831 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 23.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |