$100k salary, packing up from Madison

change
Pittsburgh, PA cityscape

instead of madison

Pittsburgh

pa · metro 2.4M

photo: Jay Brand / pexels

a dispatch from

pittsburgh

PA

40.44°N

80.00°W

Pittsburgh has more bridges than Venice (446, and locals will tell you the exact number), three rivers crashing together downtown, and a sandwich tradition where the fries go inside. The mills are long gone but the neighborhoods they built (Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip) still feed you like a great aunt. Carnegie Mellon and UPMC turned the old industrial bones into a robotics and medical research scene. The skyline reveal coming through the Fort Pitt Tunnel is the cheapest awe in America.

metro2.4M

in our guides

#5

of 10

Best affordable cities to live car-free

read the guide
#5

of 10

Best affordable cities to retire

read the guide
#7

of 10

Best cities for retirees who love the outdoors

read the guide
#6

of 10

Best cities for families

read the guide
#10

of 10

Best cities for families who love the outdoors

read the guide
#9

of 10

Best cities for mild four-season weather

read the guide
#9

of 10

Cheapest cities in America

read the guide
#4

of 10

Best cities to leave New York for

read the guide
#8

of 10

Best cities to leave Los Angeles for

read the guide
#6

of 10

Affordable alternatives to Denver

read the guide
#7

of 10

Best cities on the East Coast

read the guide
#9

of 10

Best cities for a $75k salary

read the guide
#7

of 10

Best cities for a $150k salary

read the guide
#4

of 10

Best cities to leave Boston for

read the guide
#10

of 10

Best cities to buy a home

read the guide
#5

of 10

Best cities where buying beats renting

read the guide
#3

of 10

Best cities to leave DC for

read the guide
#8

of 10

Best cities to leave Minneapolis for

read the guide
#5

of 10

Best cities for a $60k salary

read the guide
#10

of 10

Best cities to live in your 30s

read the guide

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$467

less monthly outlay than Madison

The gap is real. Pittsburgh costs noticeably less than Madison, every month.
landable, recorded on the pittsburgh entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

12% cheaper than Madison(vs $1,673/mo)

02state income tax

3.07%

$267/mo less in state tax than Madison

vs 6.27% in Madison

03after rent

$6,605/mo

$467 more than Madison

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$223k

52% cheaper than Madison

vs $465k in Madison

05metro size

2.4M

vs 694k in Madison

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

161

pleasant days a year, in pittsburgh.

Madison only manages 147 of those.

A real upgrade on things to do: 2.0× Madison's pace.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

69/100

3% higher than Madison

vs 67/100 in Madison

Closest outdoor draw: Raccoon Creek State Park, 21.4 mi.

·walk score®

99/100

13% higher than Madison

vs 88/100 in Madison

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

37

236% more than Madison

vs 11 nonstops in Madison

04 · see also

same energy as pittsburgh, different zip code:

see also

cincinnati

more flight options

turn the page

see also

cleveland

more flight options

turn the page

see also

buffalo

more things to do

turn the page

compare pittsburgh with:

CincinnatiClevelandBuffalo