Washington, DC vs Lancaster, PA
Moving from Washington to Lancaster? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($583,013 → $388,207 median home) and taxes.
Washington vs Lancaster 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 Washington, DC, you'd need about $88,325 in Lancaster, PA (−$11,675).
Livability — Washington, DC: 39 · Lancaster, PA: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,286 sqft in Washington vs 2,254 sqft in Lancaster ($389 vs $222 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Washington, DC | Lancaster, PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $28,992 | $18,312 | −$10,680 |
| Groceries | $5,318 | $4,915 | −$403 |
| Transportation | $3,855 | $3,440 | −$415 |
| Utilities | $2,748 | $2,316 | −$432 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,200 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $17,710 | $9,202 | −$8,508 |
| Total | $60,023 | $39,385 | −$20,638 |
Side by side
| Metric | Washington, DC | Lancaster, PA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 109.5 | 96.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.87% | 3.38% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.2% | 3.1% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.23 | $5.51 |
| Median home price | $583,013 | $388,207 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.9× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | 4.6% |
| Price per square foot | $389 | $222 |
| Median rent | $2,416 | $1,526 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.0% | 10.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.34% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.75% | 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.95% | 1.48% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $7,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $26,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 34 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 25.4 | 21.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $80 | $82 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $271 | $65 |
| Home internet / mo | $81 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 1,000 | 390 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 29 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.8 | 44.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 13.7 | 23.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |