The Schuylkill River and Center City, Philadelphia, PA

Moving from New York to Philadelphia, PA

The typical home in the Philadelphia, PA metro costs $374,950, against $742,000 in the New York metro. That's a mortgage of $2,061 a month instead of $4,078: $2,017 less every month, $24,205 a year. To keep the lifestyle $150,000 buys in New York, you would need about $136,662 in Philadelphia. The average commute is 7 minutes shorter each way, about 1.2 hours a week back.

By Sol Lakein, founder of Slower Sundays. Updated November 4, 2026.

$2,017Less each month on the typical home^1,2On the mortgage
$274 lessDifference in 2-bedroom rent³Utilities included
$136,662Matches $150,000 in New York⁴Same lifestyle, local prices
3.07%Pennsylvania income tax⁵Flat rate, 2026

New York vs Philadelphia: the numbers

Side by side, from the mortgage to the tax on your paycheck.^1,4,5

Measure	New York	Philadelphia
Typical home for sale	$742,000	$374,950
Monthly mortgage on it	$4,078	$2,061
2-bedroom rent	$1,997	$1,723
Everyday prices	13% above avg	3% above avg
Housing costs	49% above avg	13% above avg
Income tax on wages, 2026	Up to 10.9%, plus New York City up to 3.876%	3.07% flat, plus Philadelphia up to 3.735%

What else changes when you move to Philadelphia

January lows average 26°F and July highs 87.8°F, with 23.1 inches of snow and 44.11 inches of total precipitation in a typical year^source.

Between July 2024 and July 2025, 9,736 more people left the Philadelphia metro for elsewhere in the US than moved in^source.

The New York metro lost 168,105 more residents to the rest of the country than it gained over the same year (US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025).

Taxes: Pennsylvania taxes wages at a flat 3.07%, and Philadelphia adds up to 3.735%; New York tops out at 10.9%, plus New York City up to 3.876% (2026, married filing jointly). Property and sales taxes differ too; each state page has them where we track them.

Your New York, in Philadelphia

Places in Philadelphia that play the role of New York favorites, matched on what they offer, each sourced on the city page.

Big city park
Central Park Fairmount Park
Walking and biking trail
Hudson River Greenway Schuylkill River Trail
Art museum
The Met Philadelphia Museum of Art
Natural history museum
American Museum of Natural History Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

See all 10 matches with sources

After you move: Pennsylvania deadlines

New residents get a set number of days to switch their license and register their car.

Driver's license: within 60 days of becoming a resident^source.
Vehicle registration: within 20 days^source.

The full order of tasks is in our moving out of state checklist, and what the move itself costs is in how much it costs to move out of state (HireAHelper, 2026).

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Questions people ask

Is it cheaper to live in Philadelphia than New York?

Yes. Everyday prices, rent included, run 9% lower in Philadelphia, PA than in the New York metro by BEA's regional price parities (102.6 against 112.6, US = 100, 2024).

What salary in Philadelphia matches $150,000 in New York?

About $136,662, using BEA regional price parities for Philadelphia, PA (102.6) and the New York metro (112.6), 2024. Taxes are not included; see the tax comparison on this page.

How much would I save on housing moving from New York to Philadelphia?

On the median listed home, principal and interest drop from $4,078 to $2,061 a month ($2,017 less), with 20% down at 7.32% (Realtor.com via FRED, September 2026; Freddie Mac). Median rent for a 2-bedroom is $1,723 against $1,997 (Census ACS 2025).

Does Pennsylvania have a state income tax?

Yes, a flat 3.07% on wages in 2026 (Tax Foundation, State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2026 (Feb 17, 2026)). Philadelphia adds a city income tax of up to 3.735%. In New York the top state rate is 10.9%, plus New York City up to 3.876%.

How much does it cost to move from New York to Philadelphia?

Nobody publishes an average for this route. HireAHelper's 2026 long-distance estimates for a 2 to 3 bedroom home run from $533 to $728 for a rental truck you load yourself to $2,910 to $4,569 for full-service movers, before distance pushes the price up. Get three written estimates for the same inventory; federal rules cap what an interstate mover can demand at delivery at 110% of a non-binding estimate (FMCSA).

More moves from New York

Notes on the numbers

1Home prices: the typical home is the median listing price, Realtor.com via FRED, September 2026. New York values are for the whole metro area; Philadelphia values are for its metro area.
2Monthly mortgage: Principal and interest on the median listed home with 20% down, 30-year fixed at 7.32% (Freddie Mac 30-year fixed average, week of October 22, 2026). Excludes taxes, insurance and HOA. Rate source
3Rent: Census ACS 2025 1-year, median gross rent for 2-bedroom units (rent plus utilities). Census table
4Everyday prices, housing costs and the matching salary: BEA regional price parities, 2024, compared with the US average.
5Income tax: state revenue departments, 2026 rates for married couples filing jointly. Details on our state income tax comparison.
6Commute: Census ACS 2025 1-year, table S0801, mean travel time to work (one way, workers who do not work from home), 2025. Hours back assume a 5-day round trip. Census table

Sources for this page