What is the cost of living in Erie?

Erie has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 91.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 56.8, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,212/month.

What is the median salary in Erie?

The median salary in Erie is $59,724 annually (mean: $63,553). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers, Retail Salespersons.

The violent crime rate in the Erie area is 250 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1457 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Erie?

The state of PA has 2,930 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1. Charter schools make up 6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Erie?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Erie.

Is Erie a good place to relocate?

Erie has a Life Score of 51.5/100 (D), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Erie sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Erie ranks #85 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Erie, PA

LiveAbility 57.9/100 places Erie #85 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

91.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,212
2BR rent / mo: $59,724
Median salary: 57.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Erie ranks #85 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (57.9/100), with its strongest marks in schools and air quality.

#85
of 387 US metros · Above median: 13,078,751
metro-area population: 250
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,930
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: climate (16/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Erie ranks #85 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 91.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,212/mo, median salary $59,724; LiveAbility Score 57.9/100, strongest in schools and air quality.

Signature: LiveAbility 57.9/100 places Erie #85 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 91.0 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,212/mo.

LiveAbility 57.9/100 puts Erie in the top third (#85 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Erie area is 113,330.

Erie vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

58 Top 22% higher than 78% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Erie housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Erie MSA; housing RPP 56.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,212/mo.

Studio

$836

/month

1 Bedroom

$945

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,212

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,499

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,683

/month

Erie wages and employment

Erie posts 113,330 total employment with median salary $59,724 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$59,724

Mean Salary

$63,553

Total Employment

113,330

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$27,860
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$26,540
Retail Salespersons	$28,610
Registered Nurses	$80,000
General and Operations Managers	$89,840

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Erie area from NCES.

Schools

2,930

Enrollment

1,664,154

Student:Teacher

13.6:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Erie's composite Life Score is 51.5/100 (D), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

70/100

Strong

Wages

29/100

Weak

Rent

62/100

Above average

Crime

70/100

Strong

Schools

15/100

Bottom decile

Environment

51/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Erie ranks #85 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 57.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (85/100)

Schools

85
Air quality

82
Safety

71
Cost of living

70
Housing

62
Low hazard

35
Job market

29
Climate

16

What this shows Erie's strongest dimensions are schools and air quality; its weakest among scored dims is climate at 16/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Erie to

Evansville Fairbanks-College Fargo Farmington Fayetteville Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers

Metros near Erie on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Erie on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Erie cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Erie wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Erie?

Erie runs a $59,724 median salary at a 91.0 cost index, ranking #85 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Erie's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Erie head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Erie
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.