Cost comparison
Compare rent, housing, utilities, groceries, salary needs, and move score across the city profiles currently available in LifeAtlas.
Pennsylvania
State College is a supplemental starter city profile for the college-town rental and housing market in Pennsylvania, useful for route coverage and starter comparisons around rent, housing, utilities, wages, benefits, insurance, and moving costs.
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the large metro transit and housing market in Pennsylvania, promoted in source-ready batch 01 for comparisons around housing, wages, transit, taxes, benefits, and moving costs.
Comparison
State College has the lower salary-needed estimate, while Philadelphia has the lower starter rent. Differences are shown as Philadelphia minus State College.
| Metric | State College | Philadelphia | Difference | Advantage | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,832 | $1,797 | -$35 | Philadelphia | Philadelphia has the lower median rent. |
| Home price | $414,074 | $233,814 | -$180,260 | Philadelphia | Philadelphia has the lower home price. |
| Utilities | $210/mo | $184/mo | -$26/mo | Philadelphia | Philadelphia has the lower utilities. |
| Groceries index | 106 | 99 | -7 | Philadelphia | Philadelphia has the lower groceries index. |
| Salary needed | $73,548 | $74,100 | +$552 | State College | State College has the lower salary needed. |
| Move score | 75/100 | 80/100 | +5 | Philadelphia | Philadelphia has the higher move score. |