Washington-Arlington-Alexandria → Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources
Should you move?
Moving from Washington-Arlington-Alexandria to Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is neutral, depends on priorities: BEA regional price parity goes from 108.9 to 102.6 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent falls by $436/mo.
- -$8,484
- BLS median salary lower in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington
- 1015 to 250
- violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
- 11:1 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
- + $436/mo cheaper rent (2BR)
- + Lower violent crime rate
Cons of Moving
- - $8K lower median salary
- - Higher student-teacher ratios
- - More environmental violations
Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP falls from 108.9 to 102.6, so each dollar covers more in Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (ratio 0.94). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent drops $436/mo ($5,232/yr) from $2,246 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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). Washington-Arlington-Alexandria is #110/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Neutral, depends on priorities. Override it with the dimension table below.
BLS OEWS median salary moves $8,484 lower ($82,744 → $74,260). Labor-market size: 3,082,600 tracked jobs at origin vs 2,874,190 at destination.
State retirement friendliness is near-even: District of Columbia 61 (C, #26/51) vs Pennsylvania 65 (C, #18/51). 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
- 70
- Property tax
- 72
- Estate tax
- 100
- Healthcare
- 90
- 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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