same $100k income, fresh start from Tampa

change
Pittsburgh, PA cityscape

next stop after tampa

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

$268

under Tampa, every month

Not a fortune, but real money. Pittsburgh runs cheaper than Tampa month over month.
landable, recorded on the pittsburgh entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

26% cheaper than Tampa(vs $1,996/mo)

02state income tax

3.07%

$256/mo more in state tax than Tampa

vs 0% in Tampa

03after rent

$6,605/mo

$268 more than Tampa

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

04a house here

$223k

40% cheaper than Tampa

vs $374k in Tampa

05metro size

2.4M

vs 3.3M in Tampa

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

161

pleasant days a year, in pittsburgh.

Tampa actually gets more: 243 pleasant days a year. Cold snaps are part of the year: 28 days below 20° here, 0 in Tampa.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 1.6× more on the calendar than Tampa.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

69/100

11% higher than Tampa

vs 62/100 in Tampa

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

·walk score®

99/100

8% higher than Tampa

vs 92/100 in Tampa

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

37

46% fewer than Tampa

vs 68 nonstops in Tampa

04 · see also

in the same ballpark as pittsburgh:

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