What it costs to own a home in Pennsylvania
A median-priced Pennsylvania home costs about $2,006 a month to own with 20% down at today's 6.65% thirty-year rate. That covers $1,584 of principal and interest, $324 of property tax and $98 of homeowners insurance. Staying inside the 28% front-end ratio lenders use takes a household income of roughly $85,990 a year.
- Median home price
- $308,500
- Monthly cost
- $2,006
- Income needed
- $85,990
- Property tax rate
- 1.26%
What sets the payment in Pennsylvania?
| Input | Pennsylvania | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Effective property tax rate | 1.26% | 12th highest of 51 |
| Median home price | $308,500 | 37th highest of 51 |
| Average annual premium | $1,350 | on a $250k dwelling |
| Assessment cap | none | assessments track market value |
| Price level vs national | 97.6 | BEA price parity, 100 = US average |
| Appreciation, past year | +4.42% | FHFA index |
| Appreciation, past five years | +47.9% | FHFA index |
What makes Pennsylvania different
Pennsylvania's distinguishing feature is that assessed value often bears no relationship to market value at all. The state has no requirement that counties reassess on a schedule, and several have not conducted a countywide reassessment in decades — in a few cases since the 1970s or 1980s. Bills are calculated against a base year that may predate the current owner's birth.
The practical effect is that the 1.26% effective rate here is a statewide reconstruction from what people actually pay, not a rate anyone is quoted. Two houses of identical current value in the same county can be assessed at wildly different figures depending on when each was last touched, and a county that finally does reassess produces a redistribution that makes local news for months. Appeals in the low-assessment counties are a live risk after a purchase, because a recent sale price is the cleanest evidence an assessor can be handed.
Layered on top is the school district portion, which in most of the state is the largest single component of the bill. Philadelphia's collar counties — Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Delaware — sit well above the state average, while much of western and central Pennsylvania sits below it on far cheaper houses.
Prices rose 4.42% over the past year and about 48% over five, close to the national pace.
How much income do you need to buy a house in Pennsylvania?
All four rows buy the same $308,500 house at today's 6.65% rate. The difference is entirely the down payment and the mortgage insurance it does or does not trigger.
| Down | Cash at closing | P&I | PMI | Total monthly | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5% down | $10,798 | $1,911 | $236 | $2,569 | $110,095 |
| 5% down | $15,425 | $1,881 | $171 | $2,474 | $106,048 |
| 10% down | $30,850 | $1,782 | $106 | $2,311 | $99,039 |
| 20% down | $61,700 | $1,584 | — | $2,006 | $85,990 |
What is a Pennsylvania home bought in 2020 worth now?
Working backwards from today's median along the FHFA path for Pennsylvania: what that same house would have cost at the time, the rate available then, and where the loan and the equity stand today at 20% down.
| Bought | Price then | Rate | P&I | Balance now | Equity now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-2010 | $125,600 | 4.74% | $524 | $63,654 | $244,846 |
| Mid-2015 | $142,893 | 3.98% | $544 | $86,482 | $222,018 |
| Mid-2018 | $170,771 | 4.57% | $698 | $115,564 | $192,936 |
| Mid-2020 | $194,548 | 3.16% | $670 | $134,440 | $174,060 |
| Mid-2022 | $251,368 | 5.52% | $1,144 | $188,798 | $119,702 |
| Mid-2024 | $284,858 | 6.92% | $1,504 | $222,580 | $85,920 |
How do wages vary across Pennsylvania?
Wages track local price levels closely. These are the metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania the calculator recognises from a ZIP code, and the pay adjustment it applies to national occupation wages there.
| Metro area | Price level | Pay adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 103.4 | +5% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 93.0 | -9% |
Run a real address. These are state medians. Put in an actual Pennsylvania address, the date it closed and the price paid, and the calculator will work out that home's payment, its mortgage-insurance dates and the equity behind it.