Is Pennsylvania a Great Place to Live?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#16

16th out of 50 states overall.

Above average for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#25

25th cheapest state, about 5% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $71,100 here.

How we measure cost ›

Pennsylvania ranks 16th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 25th for affordability. It does best on walkability, safety, and education, and struggles most with dog friendly, economy, and air quality. A typical household earns about $72,600 a year, and the cost of living runs about 5% below average.

Why Pennsylvania ranks #16 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Pennsylvania scores on each, best to worst.

Walkability
#8 of 50
Safety
#16 of 50
Education
#17 of 50
Climate
#19 of 50
Healthcare
#23 of 50
Green space
#24 of 50
Cost of living
#25 of 50
Dog friendly
#27 of 50
Economy
#31 of 50
Air quality
#49 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Pennsylvania at a glance

Typical household income

$72,600

22nd highest

Typical home price

$270,000

35th highest

Overall cost of living

5% below average

25th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 9%

37th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 27 min

one way

Taxes in Pennsylvania

See your real Pennsylvania take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Pennsylvania taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.