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CityLedger

Philadelphia vs San Diego

Metro-area medians — Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area vs San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Philadelphia and San Diego are evenly matched, each taking 5 of the clearly-decided measures.

Philadelphia is about 9% cheaper to live in, while San Diego households earn about 20% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in San Diego.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Philadelphia, PA
$59,011
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$57,541
real value after local prices
San Diego, CA
$58,296
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$52,103
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Philadelphia leaves you about $5,438/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
Philadelphia
San Diego
Livability (CityLedger)
61/100
72/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
102.6
111.9
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$88,587
$97,538
Median household income
$90,850
$109,132
Median rent
$1,567/mo
$2,336/mo
Median home value
$375,100
$914,700
Unemployment
4.8%
5.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
43.3%
45.2%
Average commute
29.7 min
26.1 min
Air quality (median AQI)
53
71
Avg temperature
56°F
61°F

Choose Philadelphia for

  • + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Philadelphia profile →

Choose San Diego for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Average commute
Full San Diego profile →

Philadelphia vs San Diego — frequently asked

Is Philadelphia cheaper than San Diego?
Philadelphia is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 9% below San Diego's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, Philadelphia or San Diego?
San Diego has the higher median household income — $109,132 versus $90,850 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 20% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Philadelphia or San Diego?
A paycheck stretches further in San Diego. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $97,538 there versus $88,587 in Philadelphia.
Which has cheaper rent, Philadelphia or San Diego?
Philadelphia has cheaper rent — a median of $1,567/mo versus $2,336/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).