Overall
94.7
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Pittsburgh, PA
Cost-of-living indicators for Pittsburgh, PA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 94.7
- Overall RPP
- #175
- of 387 metros
- 72.0
- Rents RPP
- $106K
- $100K national buys
Pittsburgh ranks #175 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has risen 2.2 points since 2008.
- rising since 2008
- similar cost to Daphne-Fairhope-Foley
The verdict
Pittsburgh costs less than 45% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 94.7, 5.3% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 72.0.
- bottom 55%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 100.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 107.7
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $105,629 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $94,671.
Pittsburgh vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
95 Top 45% higher than 55% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Pittsburgh cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
72 RPP
- Services
Services
107.7 RPP
- Overall
Overall
94.7 RPP
- Goods
Goods
100.7 RPP
What this shows Pittsburgh's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 72.0 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 107.7. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Pittsburgh's cost comes from
Metros near Pittsburgh's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, this metro): goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 72
- Daphne: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 89.2
- Chambersburg: goods RPP 100.7, rents RPP 71.9
- San Antonio: goods RPP 93.8, rents RPP 94.6
- Lewiston: goods RPP 97.2, rents RPP 69
- Kalamazoo: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 81.6
- Glens Falls: goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 76.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
100.7
Above avg
Services
107.7
Above avg
Rents
72.0
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Pittsburgh's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Pittsburgh: rents index at 72.0, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 94.7.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Chambersburg, PA, Gettysburg, PA, Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA. They resemble Pittsburgh across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Pittsburgh's overall index has risen by 2.2 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$94,671
in Pittsburgh, PA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$47,336
$75,000 nationally
$71,003
$125,000 nationally
$118,339
$150,000 nationally
$142,007
$200,000 nationally
$189,342
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
C
64/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability C
64th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Pittsburgh's overall RPP did not change 0.0 points, from 94.7 in 2023 to 94.7 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 117.6 to 107.7. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending upward, increasing by 2.2 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2010, when the index jumped 1.3 points from the year before.
Pittsburgh overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 92.4 |
| 2009 | 93.1 |
| 2010 | 94.3 |
| 2011 | 94.9 |
| 2012 | 95.5 |
| 2013 | 94.4 |
| 2014 | 94.4 |
| 2015 | 95.0 |
| 2016 | 93.9 |
| 2017 | 94.9 |
| 2018 | 95.6 |
| 2019 | 95.3 |
| 2020 | 95.5 |
| 2021 | 94.8 |
| 2022 | 93.7 |
| 2023 | 94.7 |
| 2024 | 94.7 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Pittsburgh's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Chambersburg, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 108.3 · Rents 71.9 Gettysburg, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 107.0 · Rents 73.9 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 106.5 · Rents 67.0 Lebanon, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 108.4 · Rents 66.0 Williamsport, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 107.5 · Rents 64.4 York-Hanover, PA
Goods 100.7 · Services 107.0 · Rents 79.8
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Pittsburgh, PA's index of 94.7.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
PA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Pittsburgh, PA toward the bottom of PA's metros
Among the 16 PA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Pittsburgh, PA ranks #1 - the 13th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Pittsburgh, PA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 16
13th percentile in PA
Services prices
#8 of 16
50th percentile in PA
Rent prices
#9 of 16
44th percentile in PA
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within PA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Pittsburgh, PA: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (94.7 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (72.0 here).
Other PA Metros
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 102.6 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 100.0 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 98.7 Lancaster, PA 98.3 Reading, PA 97.1 State College, PA 96.8
View all PA metros → Cheapest in PA → Most expensive in PA →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Pittsburgh
How to read Pittsburgh's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $105,629 in Pittsburgh. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 72.0, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Pittsburgh head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Pittsburgh, PA?
Pittsburgh, PA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 94.7, meaning it is 5.3% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 100.7, services at 107.7, and rents at 72.0. It ranks #175 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Pittsburgh, PA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $94,671 in Pittsburgh, PA. Conversely, $100K earned in Pittsburgh, PA has the purchasing power of $105,629 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Pittsburgh, PA?
Rents in Pittsburgh, PA are indexed at 72.0, which is 28.0% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Pittsburgh, PA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Pittsburgh, PA's overall cost index changed by +2.2 points (from 92.4 to 94.7). The cost of living has been trending upward.
What costs the most in Pittsburgh, PA?
The priciest category in Pittsburgh, PA is services at 107.7, 7.7% above the national average. The most affordable category is rents at 72.0, 28.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Pittsburgh, PA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Chambersburg, San Antonio-New Braunfels. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Pittsburgh, PA's 94.7.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.