Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Boston-Cambridge-Newton to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 108.3 to 102.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $1,131/mo.
- -$9,542
- BLS median salary lower in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
- 309 to 250
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11.9:1 to 13:1
- NCES student-teacher ratio
BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.
Pros of Moving
- + 6% lower cost of living
- + $1131/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
Cons of Moving
- - $10K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 108.3 to 102.6, so each dollar covers more in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (ratio 0.95). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $1,131/mo ($13,572/yr) from $2,941 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton to $1,810 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington.
The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington sits #279 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Boston-Cambridge-Newton is #218/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $9,542 lower ($83,802 → $74,260). Labor-market size: 2,639,240 tracked jobs at origin vs 2,874,190 at destination.
State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Pennsylvania scores 65 (C, #18/51) vs Massachusetts at 45 (F, #48/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.
State retirement friendliness
Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.
- Income tax
- 55
- Property tax
- 65
- Estate tax
- 50
- Healthcare
- 84
- Income tax
- 95
- Property tax
- 58
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 72
Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).
Salary Adjustment Calculator
Enter your current salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton to see what you'd need to earn in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington to maintain the same purchasing power.
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro profile · Livability rankings · Methodology
Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026