Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom → Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is strongly favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 106.7 to 102.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $445/mo.

-$7,308
BLS median salary lower in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
477 to 250
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
20.8:1 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.

Verdict
Strongly Favorable
Cost Index: 106.7 → 102.6
Rent Delta: -$445/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + 4% lower cost of living
  • + $445/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + Better student-teacher ratios
  • + Fewer environmental violations

Cons of Moving

  • - $7K lower median salary

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 106.7 to 102.6 (ratio 0.96), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $445/mo ($5,340/yr) from $2,255 in Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom to $1,810 in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington leads on 5 of 7 federal dimensions, a destination-heavy ledger. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington sits #279 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom is #376/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Strongly Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $7,308 lower ($81,568 → $74,260). Labor-market size: 1,060,500 tracked jobs at origin vs 2,874,190 at destination.

State retirement friendliness favors the destination: Pennsylvania scores 65 (C, #18/51) vs California at 40 (F, #50/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 106.7
RPP 102.6
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Rent (2BR)
$2,255/mo
$1,810/mo
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Wages
$81,568
$74,260
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
Crime
477 per 100K
250 per 100K
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Schools
20.8:1
13:1
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Childcare
$17,920/yr
N/A
Tie
Environment
17705 violations
5292 violations
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · California
40 F #50/51
Income tax
70
Property tax
72
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
4
Destination state · Pennsylvania
65 C #18/51
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 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom to see what you'd need to earn in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
-

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