Allentown composite
36.5 /100
Grade D · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Allentown vs Pittsburgh
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ and Pittsburgh, PA side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 36.5
- Allentown Life Score
- D
- Allentown grade
- 54.0
- Pittsburgh Life Score
- B
- Pittsburgh grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Allentown scores higher on 2 (wages, safety) and Pittsburgh on 4 (cost of living, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Allentown vs Pittsburgh across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Allentown Pittsburgh ◗
cost of living
23
45
wages
71
65
rent
11
50
safety
71
69
schools
15
17
childcare
0
0
environment
2
70
Allentown and Pittsburgh differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Allentown has a cost-of-living index of 100.0 vs Pittsburgh's 94.7 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $70,782 in Allentown and $65,551 in Pittsburgh. A 2-bedroom averages $1,895/mo vs $1,299/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Allentown vs Pittsburgh Comparison
Allentown (PA) and Pittsburgh (PA) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 100.0 for Allentown against 94.7 for Pittsburgh, a 5.3-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,895/mo in Allentown and $1,299/mo in Pittsburgh, a $596/mo difference that compounds to $7,152 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $70,782 across 370,630 jobs in Allentown against $65,551 across 1,098,020 jobs in Pittsburgh. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Allentown carries the same local purchasing power as $94,701 in Pittsburgh - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 249.5 per 100,000 residents in PA vs 249.5 in PA, with property-crime rates of 1457.1 and 1457.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: PA lists 2,930 public schools at a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while PA lists 2,930 schools at 13.6:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Allentown and Pittsburgh are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Pittsburgh composite
54.0 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
5.3 pts
Allentown vs Pittsburgh BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$596 /mo
Allentown priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Allentown
Allentown composite (Grade D)
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh composite (Grade B)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Allentown | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 100.0 | 94.7 |
| Goods | 100.6 | 100.7 |
| Services | 107.6 | 107.7 |
| Rents | 105.5 | 72.0 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Pittsburgh gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Allentown?
$
Equivalent in Pittsburgh:
$94,701
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Allentown: 100.0, Pittsburgh: 94.7, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Allentown | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,517/mo | $1,001/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,527/mo | $1,077/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,895/mo | $1,299/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,404/mo | $1,661/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,800/mo | $1,789/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Allentown | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $70,782 | $65,551 |
| Total Employment | 370,630 | 1,098,020 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Allentown (PA) | Pittsburgh (PA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 249.5 | 249.5 |
| Property Crime | 1457.1 | 1457.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,930 | 2,930 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.6:1 | 13.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 6.0% | 6.0% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,241 | 1,241 |
| Water Systems | 1,787 | 1,787 |
| Superfund Sites | 127 | 127 |
| Water Violations | 5,198 | 5,198 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Allentown | Pittsburgh |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 41.0 | 53.0 |
| Good Air Days | 68.3% | 44.8% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 4 days | 10 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 4/100 | 4/100 |
| Total Violations | 1,159,868 | 1,159,868 |
| Health-Based Violations | 68,517 | 68,517 |
| Systems with Violations | 97.1% | 97.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 392 | 392 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 40/100 | 40/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 67.4 | 67.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 66.6 | 66.6 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Allentown more expensive than Pittsburgh? ▼
Allentown has a cost of living index of 100.0 compared to Pittsburgh's 94.7 (national average = 100). Allentown is 5.3 points above Pittsburgh on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Allentown and Pittsburgh? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,895/mo in Allentown vs $1,299/mo in Pittsburgh, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,517/mo to $1,001/mo.
How do salaries compare between Allentown and Pittsburgh? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $70,782 in Allentown and $65,551 in Pittsburgh, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Allentown has the same purchasing power as $94,701 in Pittsburgh.
Is Allentown or Pittsburgh safer? ▼
At the state level, PA has a violent crime rate of 249.5 per 100,000 residents compared to PA's 249.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1457.1 vs 1457.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Allentown and Pittsburgh? ▼
PA has 2,930 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1, while PA has 2,930 schools at 13.6:1. Charter schools make up 6.0% of PA schools vs 6.0% in PA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial