What is the cost of living in Harrisburg-Carlisle?

Harrisburg-Carlisle has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 96.3, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,493/month.

What is the median salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle?

The median salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle is $66,873 annually (mean: $70,489). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Harrisburg-Carlisle?

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

What are the schools like in Harrisburg-Carlisle?

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 Harrisburg-Carlisle?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Harrisburg-Carlisle.

Is Harrisburg-Carlisle a good place to relocate?

Harrisburg-Carlisle has a Life Score of 44.6/100 (F), 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Harrisburg-Carlisle ranks #270 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

Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA

BEA RPP 98.7 ranks #288 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,493
2BR rent / mo: $66,873
Median salary: 46.3
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Harrisburg-Carlisle ranks #270 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (46.3/100), with its strongest marks in schools and safety.

#270
of 387 US metros · Near median: 13,078,751
metro-area population: 250
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,930
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: cost of living (26/100). 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), Harrisburg-Carlisle ranks #270 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,493/mo, median salary $66,873; LiveAbility Score 46.3/100, strongest in schools and safety.

Signature: BEA RPP 98.7 ranks #288 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.7 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,493/mo.

LiveAbility 46.3/100 puts Harrisburg-Carlisle in the bottom third (#270 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Harrisburg-Carlisle area is 327,450.

Harrisburg-Carlisle 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)

46 Top 70% higher than 30% 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

Harrisburg-Carlisle housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Harrisburg-Carlisle MSA; housing RPP 96.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,493/mo.

Studio

$1,058

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,212

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,493

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,920

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,977

/month

Harrisburg-Carlisle wages and employment

Harrisburg-Carlisle posts 327,450 total employment with median salary $66,873 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$66,873

Mean Salary

$70,489

Total Employment

327,450

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$29,050
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$43,640
Registered Nurses	$96,770
Stockers and Order Fillers	$36,790
General and Operations Managers	$101,890

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Harrisburg-Carlisle area from NCES.

Schools

2,930

Enrollment

1,664,154

Student:Teacher

13.6:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Harrisburg-Carlisle's composite Life Score is 44.6/100 (F), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

26/100

Weak

Wages

65/100

Strong

Rent

32/100

Weak

Crime

70/100

Strong

Schools

16/100

Bottom decile

Environment

52/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Harrisburg-Carlisle ranks #270 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 46.3/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (84/100)

Schools

84
Safety

70
Job market

65
Low hazard

34
Housing

32
Climate

31
Air quality

28
Cost of living

26

What this shows Harrisburg-Carlisle's strongest dimensions are schools and safety; its weakest among scored dims is cost of living at 26/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Harrisburg-Carlisle to

Springfield St. Cloud St. George St. Joseph St. Louis State College

Metros near Harrisburg-Carlisle on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Harrisburg-Carlisle 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

Harrisburg-Carlisle cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle?

Harrisburg-Carlisle runs a $66,873 median salary at a 98.7 cost index, ranking #270 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Harrisburg-Carlisle's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Harrisburg-Carlisle head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Harrisburg-Carlisle
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.