Pittsburgh, PA cityscape

a landable guide

Best cities to live in Pennsylvania

Walkable old-city cores, real four-season weather, and some of the most reasonable rents in the Northeast. Pennsylvania is quietly one of the better-value states in the corridor.

By Karol Gajda

photo: Venti Views / unsplash

Pennsylvania is what the Northeast looks like before the rent runs away. Its cities were built dense and walkable a century before anyone used the word, and most of that bones-deep urbanism is still intact: gridded downtowns, corner-store neighborhoods, and cores you can live in without a car. What is different from the rest of the corridor is the price of getting in.

Outside the Philadelphia metro, Pennsylvania rents sit well below New York, New Jersey, and southern New England, which makes the state one of the corridor's genuine values. This list ranks its cities on cost, walkability, and things to do, with four-season weather in the mix. The winters are real and the summers are warm; the standout is what you pay for that walkable, historic living.

the ranking

how we ranked

Filtered to Pennsylvania, then ranked 30% affordability, 20% weather, 20% activity, 15% parks, 15% walkability.

common questions

Is Pennsylvania cheaper than the rest of the Northeast?
Generally yes. Outside the Philadelphia metro, Pennsylvania cities tend to offer walkable, historic living at rents well below New York, New Jersey, and southern New England, which is the state's biggest draw and why affordability leads the ranking.
What kind of weather does Pennsylvania have?
Four distinct seasons, with warm summers and cold, sometimes snowy winters. The ranking weights climate but leads on cost and walkability, which is where the state stands out most against its pricier neighbors.

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