January 18, 2023 by Anne Davis Leave a Comment
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Rising costs, the ongoing pandemic, and remote work opportunities are causing thousands of New York City residents to flee the Big Apple for the City of Brotherly Love.
One of the reasons for this departure is the cost of living. But while rent is cheaper in Philadelphia, what about other costs? We’ll compare home prices, car insurance costs in Pennsylvania and New York City, and the cost of food.
In 2020 alone, 216,000 New Yorkers moved out of Manhattan, and many of them settled in Florida. But those looking to continue working in New York are flocking to the Philadelphia area.
Home Prices: NYC vs. Philadelphia
There will always be pros and cons when considering a major move that crosses state lines. New Yorkers know the magic of walking the city streets, strolling through Central Park, and living within walking distance of everything you need in life. And if you still want more, you can hop on the Metro and be anywhere around the city in an hour or less.
Easy Transition Between 2 Northeastern Corridor Cities
Obviously, Philadelphia isn’t New York, but Philly has similarities that make the transition smoother. Philadelphia has public transportation. It’s well-developed and can get you anywhere. In fact, you can use public transit to get to Manhattan in about one and a half hours. So, if you have to go to work in person a couple of times a week, it’s not a bad commute.
Philadelphia and NYC are both cities in the Northeast Corridor, so they have similar cultures and pace of life. Moving from a big city to a small Southern town will be a culture shock, but moving from one city to another in the same region can feel more familiar.
Even similarities between the street layouts of old cities and plant life in similar growing climates can make the transition feel more like home.
New York City has the beautiful Central Park and several other beautiful parks. But Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park system is extensive and makes it easy to enjoy green space anywhere in the city. So if you want to enjoy the benefits of walking, you’ll have easy access in Philadelphia.
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Home Values: NYC vs. Philadelphia
The price difference between homes in these two cities helps explain why people leave NYC and move to Philadelphia. The average home cost in NYC is three to five times more expensive than the average home cost in Philadelphia.
So, if you have a family and you’re struggling to fit into the one-bedroom apartment that you bought for $1.2 million, you might be enticed by the three-bedroom single home with a yard you could buy for $400,000 in a good neighborhood in Philadelphia.
This housing cost difference is the driving force behind many New Yorkers’ decisions to leave the Big Apple.
Rent: NYC vs. Philadelphia
Because the cost of property is lower in Philadelphia than it is in NYC, you’ll find that the rental prices are also lower as a reflection of that.
Unfortunately, though, rent in Philadelphia has been increasing rapidly in recent years, thanks to the high demand for rentals accompanying the exodus from New York City to Philadelphia.
Insurance Costs: NYC vs. Philadelphia
It’s no surprise that insurance costs in Philadelphia are lower than those in New York because it’s cheaper to live in Philadelphia.
Home Insurance in Philadelphia
The lower the home insurer’s risk, the lower the homeowner’s premiums. A $2 million home gives an insurance company $2 million of risk to assume, so premiums will be higher than they would be for a homeowner with a $500,000 home.
Car Insurance in Pennsylvania
Car insurance in New York City is so expensive that insurance fraud is rampant. Some residents give insurance providers false car insurance addresses outside of the city to get lower rates because they can’t afford the cost of insurance with an NYC address.
Insurance costs are so high in the city that when car manufacturers first offered subscription services that covered vehicle, maintenance, and insurance costs in one monthly payment, they’d lose money when people in NYC subscribed.
And New Yorkers who go in on that deal sometimes ended up paying close to the same for their new car and insurance as they paid for insurance alone before subscribing.
Additionally, parking costs are astronomical in Manhattan, so many New Yorkers choose to forego owning a vehicle altogether and use public transit, taxis, and rideshare services.
In Philadelphia, car insurance rates are manageable. That’s one of the reasons you’ll find that car ownership is far higher in Philadelphia than in Manhattan. Simply put, you can afford to own a car in Philadelphia even if you couldn’t in NYC.
Food Costs: NYC vs. Philadelphia
Whether you’re eating out or going to the grocery store, you can expect lower prices in Philadelphia than in New York.
The Cost of Eating out Comparison
It only makes sense that with the higher cost of living for everything else in New York City, the cost of eating out would be higher. Restaurants have to pay workers more and pay higher prices for supplies, so those costs will be passed on to the customers.
Even fast-food restaurants are about 30% more expensive than in Philadelphia. But if you’re a soda lover, you should know that Philadelphia has a tax on sugary drinks, so you’ll probably pay less for your cola in Manhattan than in Philadelphia. Most Philadelphians bypass the tax by purchasing soda outside of the city limits.
The Price of Groceries in NYC Compared to Philadelphia
Commercial leases necessary for stores to operate in New York City are so expensive that they have to charge more for groceries to pay for their lease.
The average cost of groceries is about 30% lower in Philadelphia than in New York. Another savings benefit in Philadelphia is that since homes are larger, consumers can stock up on sale and bulk items and experience even more significant savings than picking up only what they can consume in a couple of days.
One of the ways remote work is defining this decade is by freeing employees to live outside of a limited diameter from work. With the possibility of working from home, the idea of moving out of Manhattan and into the more affordable City of Brotherly Love is becoming a reality for many New York individuals and families.
Philadelphia’s proximity to New York City makes occasional commutes easy. In fact, some people joke that you can even get to Manhattan faster from Philadelphia than you can from some places in New York City. And in some cases, the joke is a reality.
When you see how much lower the cost of living is in Philadelphia than in NYC, you can see why people who still want to enjoy the benefits of city life are choosing to move away from New York and into the Philadelphia area.
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Melanie Musson writes and researches for the car insurance comparison site, CarInsurance.org. She’s passionate about sharing her knowledge of insurance with others so they can protect their financial stability now and in the future.
