Golden Eagle Trail, Pine Creek Gorge, PennsylvaniaPhoto: Nicholas A. Tonelli from Northeast Pennsylvania, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Downtown in Philadelphia County, PennsylvaniaPhoto: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA, via Flickr
Courthouse in Allegheny County, PennsylvaniaPhoto: HoboJones, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cost of living in Pennsylvania

Rent, income, home value and property tax for Pennsylvania, home to 13M people, then the same for each of its 67 counties. Every figure is the published one, with its source named.

Median rent: $1,209; Census ACS, B25064, monthly
Median household income: $77,971; Census ACS, B19013, yearly
Median home value: $254,500; Census ACS, B25077
Median property tax bill: $3,311; Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners
Mean commute: 26 min; Census ACS, DP03, one way
Unemployment: 5.3%; Census ACS, DP03

Pennsylvania's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 2% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in Pennsylvania

These are the most populous places in Pennsylvania, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

Philadelphia County
Population
1.58M
Rent
$1,397
Household income
$61,953
Prop. tax (yearly)
$2,003
Plan
Allegheny County
Population
1.24M
Rent
$1,153
Household income
$78,548
Prop. tax (yearly)
$3,451
Plan
Montgomery County
Population
868K
Rent
$1,683
Household income
$113,915
Prop. tax (yearly)
$5,875
Plan

Pennsylvania, worth the trip

Ratified the Constitution on December 12, 1787, as the second state. Pennsylvania hosted the First and Second Continental Congresses and saw the Declaration of Independence signed in Philadelphia. Philadelphia served as the national capital from 1790 to 1800.

Independence National Historical Park
Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and signed, plus the Liberty Bell.
Gettysburg National Military Park
The field of the Civil War's bloodiest battle and the place that inspired Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
Valley Forge National Historical Park
The site where George Washington and the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777 to 1778, with its historic buildings and monuments.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Pennsylvania

Current owners in Pennsylvania pay a median 1.30% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $3,311 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $1,145 in Forest County to $6,308 in Chester County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Pennsylvania

Life expectancy: 76.9 yrs; County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics
No health insurance: 6.5%; County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65
Poor or fair health: 17.0%; County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted
Injury deaths per 100K people: 97; County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Pennsylvania as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Pennsylvania

Expected yearly loss, statewide: $4.1B; All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more
Building loss rate: $1.12; Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states
Costliest hazard: Inland flooding; $2.7B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses
Air quality: —; The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in Pennsylvania

Permitted in 2025

25,709homes

Per 1,000 residents

2.0

Single-family · larger buildings

15,812 · 9,897

26K2020
48K2021
28K2022
25K2023
25K2024
26K2025

Pennsylvania approved permits for 25,709 new homes in 2025. That is about 2.0 homes for every 1,000 people. 15,812 were single-family houses, and 9,897 were in buildings with two or more homes. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly count stayed between 24,810 and 47,894.

45th of the 50 states and DC by homes permitted per 1,000 residents in 2025.

A permit lets a home be built. It does not mean the home is finished. Some offices did not report, so part of this figure is a Census estimate. The offices that did report account for 22,489. Source: US Census Building Permits Survey, annual 2025 data.

Side by side

Philadelphia County, PA is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in Pennsylvania

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

All 67 counties in Pennsylvania

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.


Adams County	$1,115	$84,092	$268,500	$3,561	106K	476
Allegheny County	$1,153	$78,548	$227,600	$3,451	1.24M	3,191
Armstrong County	$785	$65,008	$157,300	$2,161	64.6K	29
Beaver County	$890	$71,089	$190,900	$2,704	166K	285
Bedford County	$784	$59,992	$179,000	$1,444	47.5K	75
Berks County	$1,181	$79,777	$257,300	$4,239	433K	582
Blair County	$885	$62,382	$161,100	$1,724	121K	86
Bradford County	$901	$63,675	$187,500	$2,044	59.9K	62
Bucks County	$1,605	$114,764	$445,700	$5,826	647K	780
Butler County	$1,041	$89,843	$294,200	$2,970	197K	1,246
Cambria County	$739	$58,418	$121,000	$1,492	132K	61
Cameron County	$689	$50,573	$88,900	$1,414	4,427	none
Carbon County	$994	$67,554	$211,400	$3,088	65.4K	195
Centre County	$1,207	$74,291	$323,500	$3,386	159K	314
Chester County	$1,763	$127,208	$485,600	$6,308	548K	1,400
Clarion County	$798	$62,649	$155,700	$1,503	37.2K	23
Clearfield County	$791	$62,152	$137,000	$1,500	78.6K	75
Clinton County	$820	$60,816	$175,900	$2,046	37.8K	38
Columbia County	$943	$64,644	$206,200	$2,286	65.4K	111
Crawford County	$802	$60,476	$153,200	$2,064	82.7K	99
Cumberland County	$1,249	$87,494	$277,600	$3,254	268K	745
Dauphin County	$1,217	$76,242	$236,400	$3,198	290K	329
Delaware County	$1,372	$89,546	$332,200	$6,124	579K	217
Elk County	$719	$66,380	$133,600	$1,697	30.5K	23
Erie County	$904	$63,354	$177,000	$2,830	269K	243
Fayette County	$793	$58,236	$143,200	$1,607	126K	196
Forest County	$817	$52,191	$115,300	$1,145	6,715	2
Franklin County	$1,093	$77,003	$249,800	$2,740	157K	1,033
Fulton County	$809	$65,836	$208,500	$2,120	14.5K	17
Greene County	$789	$68,041	$153,900	$1,960	34.8K	36
Huntingdon County	$810	$65,557	$183,200	$1,718	43.7K	64
Indiana County	$800	$60,208	$152,800	$2,297	83K	40
Jefferson County	$750	$58,686	$139,700	$1,402	43.9K	none
Juniata County	$756	$66,318	$217,000	$2,147	23.4K	30
Lackawanna County	$1,007	$66,223	$201,800	$3,012	216K	277
Lancaster County	$1,357	$86,959	$301,100	$3,975	558K	1,296
Lawrence County	$831	$61,931	$147,200	$1,967	85K	70
Lebanon County	$1,110	$78,425	$242,000	$3,310	144K	542
Lehigh County	$1,383	$80,079	$300,400	$4,651	379K	394
Luzerne County	$1,004	$63,691	$174,100	$2,530	328K	295
Lycoming County	$913	$63,917	$202,200	$2,649	113K	69
McKean County	$809	$62,905	$104,500	$1,660	39.9K	33
Mercer County	$843	$59,976	$164,000	$1,936	109K	90
Mifflin County	$822	$63,953	$156,700	$2,266	46K	54
Monroe County	$1,393	$83,565	$267,600	$4,447	168K	257
Montgomery County	$1,683	$113,915	$436,700	$5,875	868K	2,231
Montour County	$1,142	$76,976	$248,100	$2,507	18.1K	18
Northampton County	$1,395	$89,184	$308,600	$4,700	319K	1,050
Northumberland County	$806	$60,583	$162,400	$1,794	90.6K	31
Perry County	$874	$79,444	$236,400	$2,859	46.2K	127
Philadelphia County	$1,397	$61,953	$243,100	$2,003	1.58M	3,366
Pike County	$1,378	$81,323	$272,600	$3,542	60.6K	167
Potter County	$809	$59,020	$153,100	$1,857	16.2K	21
Schuylkill County	$876	$68,313	$153,000	$2,140	144K	211
Snyder County	$929	$66,876	$215,300	$2,388	39.7K	69
Somerset County	$753	$61,446	$150,600	$1,477	72.8K	57
Sullivan County	$775	$69,764	$197,100	$2,015	5,888	12
Susquehanna County	$933	$68,487	$216,400	$2,365	38.2K	61
Tioga County	$863	$64,899	$181,100	$2,078	40.9K	74
Union County	$974	$76,404	$240,100	$2,744	42.5K	63
Venango County	$795	$61,522	$119,800	$1,520	49.8K	50
Warren County	$755	$60,480	$127,500	$1,687	37.9K	35
Washington County	$949	$78,958	$228,500	$2,485	210K	359
Wayne County	$1,038	$62,381	$242,100	$3,039	51.3K	150
Westmoreland County	$879	$74,109	$203,500	$2,501	353K	421
Wyoming County	$943	$72,460	$215,400	$2,817	26K	67
York County	$1,193	$84,829	$248,600	$4,006	463K	1,589

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: Pennsylvania next to your own state, by what you value.

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See the three counties

Pennsylvania at a glance

The three most populous counties in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia County

Allegheny County

Montgomery County