City housing comparison

New York vs Philadelphia: Housing Costs Compared

Compare New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA using 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year housing and income estimates.

Quick answer

Philadelphia has lower reported median rent

Median gross rent is $424 lower per month in Philadelphia. The income associated with a 30% rent target is $16,900 lower per year there.

This is a housing baseline, not an overall winner or a complete cost-of-living comparison.

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Compare housing costs using the same 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year definitions and calculations.

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Side-by-side data

Housing and income benchmarks

MetricNew YorkPhiladelphia
Median gross rent$1,821/mo±$7 MOE$1,397/mo±$14 MOE
Income for 30% rent target$72,800±$300 derived MOE$55,900±$600 derived MOE
Median household income$80,483±$601 MOE$61,953±$919 MOE
Median home value$777,600±$4,889 MOE$243,100±$2,641 MOE
Home value-to-income9.7x3.9x
Owner-occupied homes33%52%

Decision signals

What the differences mean

01

Renting baseline

Philadelphia has $424 lower reported monthly median gross rent. Keeping that rent near 30% of gross income corresponds to $16,900 less annual household income than in New York.

02

Household income context

New York reports $18,530 higher median household income. Citywide medians do not show an individual household's job offer, debt or family size.

03

Buying pressure

Philadelphia reports a $534,500 lower median home value. Philadelphia has the lower home value-to-income baseline by 5.7x. This does not include mortgage rates, taxes, insurance, maintenance or down payment requirements.

04

Ownership mix

Philadelphia has an owner-occupied share 19.0 percentage points higher. Ownership share describes occupied housing, not homes currently available for sale.

City guide

New York, NY

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City guide

Philadelphia, PA

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Comparison questions

Which city has lower median rent?

Philadelphia has lower reported median gross rent by $424 per month in the 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year estimates.

Which city needs less income for the 30% rent benchmark?

Philadelphia has the lower reported annual income target by $16,900.

Does this compare total cost of living?

No. It compares housing, household income and ownership measures. Food, transportation, taxes, health care and live listings are outside the current scope.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates. Latest release checked Jul 11, 2026 at 11:49 UTC. Review the definitions and methodology.