$100k salary, packing up from San Francisco

change
Pittsburgh, PA cityscape

from san francisco

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

$2,193

less monthly outlay than San Francisco

In Pittsburgh, rent stops being the headline. The cost gap shows up every month without you trying.
landable, recorded on the pittsburgh entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

53% cheaper than San Francisco(vs $3,146/mo)

02state income tax

3.07%

$519/mo less in state tax than San Francisco

vs 9.3% in San Francisco

03after rent

$6,605/mo

$2,193 more than San Francisco

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

04a house here

$223k

82% cheaper than San Francisco

vs $1239k in San Francisco

05metro size

2.4M

vs 4.6M in San Francisco

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

161

pleasant days a year, in pittsburgh.

San Francisco has the edge here, logging 312 pleasant days a year. Cold snaps are part of the year: 28 days below 20° here, 0 in San Francisco.

Noticeably quieter than San Francisco. About 69% fewer events on a typical month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

69/100

17% lower than San Francisco

vs 83/100 in San Francisco

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

·walk score®

99/100

0% lower than San Francisco

vs 99/100 in San Francisco

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

37

67% fewer than San Francisco

vs 111 nonstops in San Francisco

04 · see also

cities that play in pittsburgh's register:

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