Savannah, GA vs Philadelphia, PA
Moving from Savannah to Philadelphia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($348,054 → $390,463 median home) and taxes.
Savannah 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 Savannah, GA, you'd need about $106,730 in Philadelphia, PA (+$6,730).
Livability — Savannah, GA: 68 · Philadelphia, PA: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,945 sqft in Savannah vs 2,241 sqft in Philadelphia ($170 vs $223 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Savannah, GA | Philadelphia, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,504 | $22,968 | +$1,464 |
| Groceries | $4,815 | $4,909 | +$94 |
| Transportation | $3,515 | $3,440 | −$75 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $2,316 | +$660 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $1,200 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $10,322 | $10,192 | −$130 |
| Total | $43,912 | $45,025 | +$1,113 |
Side by side
| Metric | Savannah, GA | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.9 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.07% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.7% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.46 | $5.82 |
| Median home price | $348,054 | $390,463 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 4.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.6% | 2.5% |
| Price per square foot | $170 | $223 |
| Median rent | $1,792 | $1,914 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.38% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.39% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.94% | 1.61% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 29 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $74 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $123 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 370 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.4 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.2 | 23.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |