Pennsylvania - Livability (2024)

FAQs

Is Pennsylvania a good place to live? ›

The Pros of Living in Pennsylvania

Overall, the state is considered more affordable than 30 other states. Housing can be significantly cheaper than in neighboring states. Taxes are low and easy to calculate too. The state income tax rate is a flat 3.07 percent for everyone, with a modest 6% sales tax.

According to data gathered in 2022 from MERIC, the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, the average cost of living in Pennsylvania places the state 27th in a list of states with the lowest to the highest cost of living.

Americans on the move might be attracted to Pennsylvania due to its relatively lower cost of living. Compared to the national average, the Keystone State's cost of living is roughly 2% lower, according to apartment listing service RentCafe.

Cost of Living

On average, Pennsylvania is about 4.1 percent more expensive than Texas, with prices higher in groceries, healthcare, and transportation. However, the good news is that these price differences are not usually extreme. You can probably live comfortably in Pennsylvania on your Texas salary.

Affordable Cost of Living

In fact, the cost of living in Florida is slightly below Pennsylvania. Furthermore, Florida has the fourth lowest tax burden in the country and is one of only seven states with no income tax.

You will even find that major cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offer a significantly lower cost of living compared to other East Coast metropolitan areas. In fact, Jersey City is 45% more expensive than Philadelphia and the median home cost is 216% more in New Jersey!

The top three reasons for considering a move were a lower cost of living, lower taxes, and better jobs and opportunities. More than half of voters said Pennsylvania was on the “wrong track.”

In some counties, such Allegheny and Philadelphia, the number of residents is falling primarily as people leave for other communities, the Census data indicates. Other counties are dealing with population declines largely because deaths are exceeding births.

How has Pennsylvania's population changed over the years? Pennsylvania's population increased 8 out of the 12 years between year 2010 and year 2022. Its largest annual population increase was 1.5% between 2019 and 2020. The state's largest decline was between 2021 and 2022 when the population dropped 0.3%.

The crime rate in Collegeville is 371 crimes per 100,000 people, which is 84% lower than the national average. Fox Chapel – Fox Chapel has been recognized as Pennsylvania's safest city according to the FBI crime data. The likelihood of being a victim of a violent crime in this town is extremely low.

What pa town is ranked 1? ›

Chesterbrook

That's right, the Philadelphia suburb of Chesterbrook ranks at no. 1 on the list. According to Niche, “Chesterbrook is a suburb of Philadelphia with a population of 5,457. Chesterbrook is in Chester County and is one of the best places to live in Pennsylvania.

Hampden Township is the safest city in Pennsylvania, thanks to it's low property crime rate of 2.9 incidents per 1,000 people. Every safest city reported less than 1 violent crime per 1000 people. Shaler Township reported the fewest violent crimes, with 8 reported.

South Park Township

This township sits in the southern part of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 15 miles (24 km) south of downtown Pittsburgh. It is one of the safest spots in the state and rated an A- based on violent and property crime rates. In 2012, only 401 crimes per 100,000 residents were recorded.

The cost of living in Pennsylvania is 4% lower than the national average. Housing is 17% lower than the national average, while utilities are 7% higher. When it comes to basic necessities such as food and clothing, groceries are around 1% lower than in the rest of the country, while clothing costs 1% lower.

PENNSYLVANIA — A new ranking that looks at housing affordability, job prospects, education quality, health care availability and other quality-of-life measures puts Pennsylvania among the best states to raise a family.