What does it cost to live in Philadelphia, PA? Based on 7 federal sources (BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026, EIA energy prices, IRS/state tax), a single adult's modeled annual budget is $57,780 and a family of four's is $70,907 (2025).
Applies to the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area.
Category
Index (U.S. = 100)
vs U.S.
All items
102.6
+2.6%
Goods
96.8
−3.2%
Rents
113.1
+13.1%
Utilities
114.4
+14.4%
Other services
103.1
+3.1%
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 · Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area · methodology →
ACS 5-Year 2020–2024
Owner costs.
Owner cost & property tax — place-grain from the ACS 5-Year 2020–2024. Median monthly selected owner costs (SMOC) cover mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and condo fees where applicable; real-estate taxes paid is the median property-tax bill for owner-occupied units.
Utility prices in Pennsylvania — applies to Pennsylvania statewide (electricity and natural gas) or its PADD region (gasoline). Residential rates are state averages, not what any specific household pays.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) · state-grain · methodology →
Census Gov Finances FY2022
State tax burden.
Tax burden in Pennsylvania — combined state + local taxes per capita, from the U.S. Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (FY2022). Population denominator: Census PEP 2022 state estimate. State-grain only; this is revenue divided by people, not a household tax bill. "vs U.S. state average" compares one state to the unweighted mean across all 51 states + DC.
Measure
Value
vs U.S. state average
Total state + local taxes per capita
$6,658
6,836 avg · -3%
Property taxes per capita
$1,719
1,886 avg · -9%
Sales & gross receipts taxes per capita
$2,101
2,255 avg · -7%
Individual income taxes per capita
$1,794
1,617 avg · +11%
Corporate income taxes per capita
$444
393 avg · +13%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances · FY2022 · state-grain · methodology →
State Income Tax TY2025
State income tax.
Measure
Value
Note
Top state income tax rate (single filer)
3.07%
flat rate · TY2025
Effective state income tax at $75k (single)
3.07%
after $0 standard deduction · TY2025
Flat-tax schedule
Income range (single)
Marginal rate
$0+
3.07%
Flat 3.07% rate for tax year 2025. Pennsylvania does not provide a standard deduction; tax applies to gross compensation with limited deductions. Local Earned Income Tax (typically 0.5%-3.75%, Philadelphia 3.75%) excluded.
Income tax: state-level only. Local income taxes (e.g., NYC resident tax, Yonkers surcharge, Portland-OR Metro tax, Maryland county tax, Philadelphia wage tax, OH/KY/MI city income taxes) appear in the Local income tax section below when modeled. Effective rate at $75k is illustrative only — single filer with state standard deduction, no itemized deductions, no credits.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue · TY2025 · state-grain · methodology →
Tax Foundation TY2025
State + local sales tax.
Measure
Rate
Note
State sales tax rate
6.00%
statutory state rate · TY2025
Avg local sales tax rate
0.34%
population-weighted state average · Tax Foundation TY2025
Combined sales tax rate
6.34%
state + avg local · TY2025
Sales tax: state-grain. The "average local rate" is Tax Foundation's population-weighted state-average; actual local rates vary by city, county, and special taxing district. Selective sales taxes (hotels, meals, car rentals) and excise taxes (gasoline, tobacco, alcohol) are excluded.
Source: Tax Foundation · state statutes · TY2025 · methodology →
Local Income Tax · F3 Pipeline
Local income tax.
Philadelphia falls within a modeled local income tax jurisdiction. The monthly amount shown is derived from the iterative solver (F3) for the single-adult household budget and applies to Philadelphia (wage tax).
Measure
Value
Source / grain
Local income tax (monthly, single adult)
$181/mo
Philadelphia (wage tax) · manual_override · tier: B_manual
Source: PA DCED, MD DLS, IN DOR, OH RITA/CCA, municipal overrides · jurisdiction-grain · methodology →
USDA Food Plans + Food Atlas
Food and grocery access.
Food and grocery access. USDA national food-cost reference plus USDA Food Environment Atlas county-level food access. National plan values are not adjusted for local prices.
Measure
Value
Grain / source
Thrifty Food Plan, family of 4
$996/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Moderate-Cost Plan, family of 4
$1,341/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Liberal Plan, family of 4
$1,619/mo
national reference, USDA CNPP
Grocery stores per 1,000 pop
0.44
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2020
Low food-access population share
107.6%
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2019
SNAP participation rate
14.2%
county-grain, USDA ERS Atlas 2022
Food Atlas county: Philadelphia County, PA. USDA Food Plans observation: July 2025. Alaska and Hawaii shoppers should expect substantially higher prices than the national figure. See food methodology.
Monthly Household Budget Benchmark
Household budget.
Monthly Household Budget Benchmark — estimated monthly cost of basic needs, composed from federal public-domain sources. Two compositions: single adult (1BR rental) and family of four, two adults working, two children ages 4 and 8 (3BR rental). Not a recommended salary, not a poverty threshold, not a composite index. Methodology informed by the MIT Living Wage Calculator and EPI Family Budget Calculator; figures independently computed from primary federal sources.
Single adult · 1BR rental
Component
Monthly
Grain / source
Housing (1BR rental)
$1,230/mo
HUD SAFMR FY2026, ZIP 19140
Food
$294/mo
national, USDA Low-Cost Plan 2025, state price-adjusted
Transportation
$1,075/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Healthcare (out-of-pocket)
$183/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Internet + cellular
$122/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024 (no sub-state federal source for ISP price)
Other necessities
$486/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Civic engagement
$321/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Taxes (federal + FICA + state + local)
$1,105/mo
TY2025, iteratively solved
↳ Local income tax (city/county)
$181/mo
Philadelphia (wage tax)
Total monthly
$4,815/mo
mixed grain
Total annual
$57,780/yr
mixed grain
Gross income required (pre-tax)
$57,780/yr
mixed grain, TY2025 tax solver
Single adult, no dependents, single filing status.
Family of four · 3BR rental
Two adults working, two children (ages 4 and 8). Married Filing Jointly.
Component
Monthly
Grain / source
Housing (3BR rental)
$1,750/mo
HUD SAFMR FY2026, ZIP 19140, 3BR
Food
$1,115/mo
national, USDA Family-of-4 Plan 2025, state price-adjusted
Childcare
not modeled
county not covered by NDCP 2022
Transportation
$1,075/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Healthcare (out-of-pocket)
$183/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Internet + cellular
$122/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024 (no sub-state federal source for ISP price)
Other necessities
$486/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Civic engagement
$321/mo
national, BLS CEX 2024, state price-adjusted
Taxes (federal + FICA + state + local, MFJ)
$858/mo
TY2025, iteratively solved, MFJ + EITC + CTC
↳ Local income tax (city/county)
$222/mo
Philadelphia (wage tax)
Total monthly
$5,909/mo
mixed grain
Total annual
$70,907/yr
mixed grain
Gross income required (pre-tax, combined)
$70,907/yr
mixed grain, TY2025 MFJ solver
Includes CTC $4,400/yr (TY2025 federal credits, MFJ).
Note: USDA family-of-4 food plan uses children ages 6–8 and 9–11; childcare modeled at ages 4 and 8. Small ~5% age-band inconsistency documented in methodology.
Note: family-of-4 total excludes childcare because this county is outside NDCP 2022 coverage. For comparison, modeled counties typically add $1,500–$2,900/mo for two children at center-based preschool + school-age care.
Component grains range from ZIP or county (housing, per HUD SAFMR/FMR coverage) to national (CEX-based rows adjusted to state price level via BEA Regional Price Parities). Childcare: county-grain DOL NDCP 2022, inflated by BLS CPI Child Care subindex (factor 1.2293, Jan 2022 → Apr 2026). Local income tax modeled for ~3,100+ jurisdictions in 16 states. Not a recommended salary; not a poverty threshold; components are not weighted into a composite score. See household budget methodology, family-of-four methodology, and local income tax methodology.
Methodology
How these figures are computed.
Every figure on this page comes from a primary federal source. No composite index is produced; figures are presented per-component with grain labels so readers can trace each number to its source.
BEA Regional Price Parities → — Bureau of Economic Analysis RPP 2024, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area.
ACS owner costs → — American Community Survey 5-Year 2020–2024 tables B25088 (SMOC) and B25103 (real-estate taxes).
EIA energy prices → — U.S. Energy Information Administration state residential electricity, natural gas, and PADD-region gasoline.
State tax burden → — U.S. Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances FY2022.
State income tax → — Pennsylvania Department of Revenue rate schedule TY2025.
Sales tax → — Tax Foundation state + average local combined rate study TY2025.
Local income tax → — F3 pipeline from PA DCED, MD DLS, IN DOR, OH RITA/CCA, and municipal overrides.
Food plans → — USDA CNPP Cost of Food Plans and USDA ERS Food Environment Atlas county-grain access data.
Single-adult budget → — F1 composite from HUD FMR/SAFMR, BLS CEX, BEA RPP, USDA CNPP, IRS rev. proc., and state + local income tax.
