2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$66,200
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-33.8%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$1,496
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$14,052
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$15,548/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

COL 181.0
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,860
Local / City Tax -$3,441
Net Annual Take-Home $70,879
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$32,748
Discretionary Cash Flow $38,131
Target Market
Destination Location

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

COL 119.9
Gross Parity Income $66,200
Federal Income Tax -$5,764
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,064
State Income Tax -$2,032
Local / City Tax -$2,473
Net Annual Take-Home $50,867
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$18,696
Discretionary Cash Flow $32,171

EPI family budgets put living costs 33.8% lower in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, so $100,000 in New York goes about as far as $66,200 in Philadelphia. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,729 a month in New York and $1,558 in Philadelphia, $14,052 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $1,496 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in Philadelphia. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $15,548 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $61,430 in New York and $54,310 in Philadelphia.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category New York-Newark-Jersey City (Monthly) Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,729$1,558-$1,171-42.9%
Food & Groceries$426$388-$38-8.9%
Transportation$693$1,028+$335+48.3%
Healthcare$748$374-$374-50.0%
Other Necessities$879$546-$333-37.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,427$2,302-$125-5.2%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,171/mo (-42.9%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: $1,558/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,111/mo (-37.4%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: $1,860/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$13.52/hr (-33.8%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: $26.51/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$9.94/hr (-29.1%)
New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington: $24.25/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector New York-Newark-Jersey City Median Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$119,720$101,180-$18,540 (-15.5%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$157,000$121,630-$35,370 (-22.5%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$166,830$133,040-$33,790 (-20.3%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$105,650$85,990-$19,660 (-18.6%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$221,010$166,920-$54,090 (-24.5%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$126,660$104,160-$22,500 (-17.8%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$124,390$100,920-$23,470 (-18.9%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,300$173,470-$41,830 (-19.4%)View Dossier
Financial AnalystFinanceFinance$128,930$95,400-$33,530 (-26.0%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$192,840$166,310-$26,530 (-13.8%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$215,150$156,500-$58,650 (-27.3%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$167,580$122,920-$44,660 (-26.6%)View Dossier

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Relocation FAQs

About $66,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 119.9 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD Overview

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living. Official 2026 economic data for Relocation: New York-Newark, NY-NJ to Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS surveys, HUD Fair Market Rents, and statutory tax codes.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD to match $100,000 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

About $66,200. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, 119.9 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD cheaper than New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 33.8% lower in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD than in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.