How Much Does It Cost to Live in Philadelphia? A 2026 Rent and Budget Guide

Updated September 2026. Rent figures reflect Apartment List data as of August 2026.

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes in Philadelphia is $1,447 as of August 2026, with one-bedrooms at $1,323 and two-bedrooms at $1,530. That runs about 4% above the national median of $1,390.

On that all-sizes figure Philadelphia is the cheapest of the large Northeast corridor cities compared here, $67 under Baltimore and $245 under Newark. A one-bedroom with power, water, and groceries comes to around $1,980 a month, before transport, internet, insurance, and anything else.

Philadelphia Cost of Living at a Glance

Rent anchors this guide, and the advertised price covers one part of the monthly bill. The figures below set a starting range for Philadelphia.

Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates. Full method and sources are in the appendix.

How to use these numbers: Start with the rent for the unit size you're considering. Add the planning estimates that apply to you, then replace them with listing-specific charges and your expected usage.

What Is the Median Rent in Philadelphia in 2026?

The median one-bedroom rent in Philadelphia is $1,323 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. Two-bedrooms run $1,530 and the all-sizes median is $1,447.

Philadelphia is one of the few large markets still rising. Rent here is up 0.76% over the past year while the national median fell 0.76%, and month over month it was flat at 0.12%. A 0.76% move is close to flat in itself; what it shows is that Philadelphia is not softening the way the country is.

These are citywide figures, and they do not establish what any individual building is asking or offering. Ask each property directly about concessions, fees, and the move-in total, then compare the quote you get with the medians above.

Philadelphia One-Bedrooms Cost 91 Cents Per Dollar of the Citywide Median

A one-bedroom runs $1,323 against a citywide median of $1,447, or about 91 cents on the dollar. Across the 50 largest U.S. cities that figure is closer to 86 cents (Apartment List, August 2026), and Philadelphia has the ninth-narrowest gap of the fifty.

The practical effect is that the all-sizes median is a poorer guide to what a solo renter pays here than it would be in most big cities. Shop the one-bedroom figure rather than the headline.

How the City Median Compares With the Metro Median

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro median is $1,592 across all apartment sizes as of August 2026, against the city's $1,447. The city runs below its metro at every unit size, but by very different amounts.

So the unit size you are searching for changes how much that gap is worth. It is nearly twice as large on two-bedrooms as on one-bedrooms.

The metro figure covers Philadelphia itself alongside Camden, Wilmington, and the communities around them, so it is a part-and-whole comparison rather than a read on what anywhere outside the city costs, or on whether moving outward saves money.

How Does Philadelphia Rent Compare With the Northeast Corridor?

The table sets Philadelphia against the large corridor cities and the national median.

All figures are Apartment List medians as of August 2026.

On the all-sizes median Philadelphia is the cheapest city in this table, and the corridor climbs steeply from here: Washington is $724 more, Boston $1,068, and Jersey City $1,080, which is roughly three-quarters of Philadelphia's entire median rent.

Switch to one-bedrooms and the answer changes. Newark comes in at $1,268 and Baltimore at $1,281, both below Philadelphia's $1,323, so on the smallest units Philadelphia is third of the six rather than first. The all-sizes figure blends studios through larger units, and Philadelphia's mix lands differently from theirs. If you are shopping a specific size, compare that size directly rather than reading either figure as a proxy.

The top of the range holds whichever way you cut it. Everything north of Newark is a different financial conversation at any unit size.

What Income Corresponds to Philadelphia Rent at the 30% Benchmark?

Using Apartment List's August 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $1,323, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $52,920 in annual gross income.

Each income figure is the monthly rent multiplied by 12 and divided by 0.30. The shared row assumes an equal split of the two-bedroom median.

These are gross income figures covering rent alone. The 30% share is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) affordability measure, which counts utilities inside it where these do not, so add utilities on top. They are planning benchmarks rather than salary requirements or screening rules, and the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income, which will produce a different estimate. That distinction carries more weight here than in most cities, for the reason set out in the wage tax section below.

How Do You Set a Rent Ceiling for a Specific Listing?

The median tells you the middle of the market, but you rent one specific unit. Work backward from your income:

1. Take your gross annual income.

2. Multiply by 0.30 to get the annual rent your budget supports at the 30% benchmark.

3. Divide by 12 for a monthly rent ceiling.

On a $60,000 gross salary that is about $1,500 a month. Philadelphia's one-bedroom median is $1,323 (Apartment List, August 2026), which leaves about $177 between the median and that ceiling. Electricity and water at the planning figures above account for roughly $217 of it, so at that income a median one-bedroom plus utilities already runs past the rent-only benchmark.

The arithmetic also runs the other way for a specific listing: multiply the monthly rent by 12 and divide by 0.30 to see the income it implies. A $1,700 listing points to about $68,000.

Then check the listing detail page for the charges rent alone hides: application, admin, pet, and parking fees are disclosed per unit. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee of its own, so the numbers you are budgeting for belong to the property.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Philadelphia?

Electricity

PECO delivers the power, but Pennsylvania is deregulated, so you choose the company that generates it. At 500 kWh a month on PECO's default service, a bill runs about $121.

That is expensive. It works out to about 24 cents a kilowatt-hour, against a Pennsylvania average of 21.73 cents and a national average of 18.34 cents (EIA, June 2026). The figure above also leaves out transmission charges, so a real bill runs higher, and power is around 9% of what a median one-bedroom costs here.

What moves it is the supplier. If you never pick one you pay PECO's default price to compare, 11.759 cents a kilowatt-hour from June through November 2026, and you can put competing offers against it at PAPowerSwitch. That is the one lever on this line you control directly.

Ask whether the unit has its own meter and who the current supplier is.

Water, Sewer, and Stormwater

The Philadelphia Water Department bills all three together. New rates took effect on September 1, 2026, putting a typical residential bill at about $96 a month on 430 cubic feet of use through a standard 5/8-inch meter.

About a quarter of that is the stormwater charge, and it is billed on the property rather than on what you use, so conserving water does not reduce it.

Many rowhouse conversions fold water into the rent, so ask rather than assume. Households at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, or facing a qualifying hardship, may be eligible for the Tiered Assistance Program, which sets the bill as a share of income.

City Wage Tax

Philadelphia taxes residents 3.735% of earned income. On the $52,920 that the one-bedroom median implies at the 30% benchmark, that is about $1,977 a year, or $165 a month, gone before you have paid rent.

The tax follows both where you live and where you work. Residents owe 3.735% on earned income wherever the job is, and non-residents who work in the city owe 3.425% on what they earn here, so moving outside the city line trims the rate rather than removing it if the job stays. Check both addresses against the city's rules before assuming a suburban move changes your take-home.

This is why the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for after-tax income. The 30% benchmark above is calculated on gross and cannot see it.

Transit

SEPTA charges $2.90 for a bus or Metro ride, with the first two transfers free inside 90 minutes. A weekly TransPass+ is $31 and a monthly is $116.

That base fare ties New York's for the highest in the country, the result of a 21.5% increase in September 2025. SEPTA's FY2027 budget holds fares flat, so those are the current prices.

A monthly pass and a car are different budgets. Compare $116 against your own payment, insurance, fuel, parking, and meter costs before ruling out a pricier apartment closer in. Subway, trolley, bus, and Regional Rail reach Center City, University City, South Philadelphia, and West Philadelphia, so whether a car is optional depends on where you land and where you need to be.

Groceries

For a single adult, the USDA moderate-cost food plan runs about $440 a month. The USDA figure is national and is not specific to Philadelphia, so use it as a starting point and adjust it for how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Philadelphia Budgets Compare?

Rent values are Apartment List August 2026 city-level estimates. The shared column assumes two renters splitting the median two-bedroom rent, one electricity bill, and one water bill equally. Both columns exclude the city wage tax, which follows each renter's own income and does not split, and exclude transit, internet, insurance, parking, and a car.

Splitting a two-bedroom equally costs about $558 a month less per renter than paying for a one-bedroom on your own, or roughly $6,696 a year. Almost all of that comes from the rent line; groceries do not split at all, and the wage tax follows each renter separately. That $765 share corresponds to about $30,600 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark, against $52,920 for the one-bedroom.

Philadelphia's Two-Bedroom Median Runs $207 Above Its One-Bedroom

A two-bedroom runs $207 more than a one-bedroom at the median, or about 15.7% above the one-bedroom figure (Apartment List, August 2026).

That is the price of the larger apartment, not the price per person. Split equally between two renters, it comes to about $765 each, roughly $558 a month less than paying the one-bedroom median on your own.

What Should You Confirm Before Paying an Application Fee?

• Whether water is included in rent, which varies building to building in rowhouse conversions

• Whether the unit has its own electricity meter, and who the current supplier is

• Whether heat is gas or electric, and who pays it

• Whether parking is included, and what a residential permit costs on that block

• Every unit-level fee: application, admin, pet, and parking, all disclosed on the listing detail page

• Total move-in cost: first month, security deposit, and any administrative or amenity fees

Pennsylvania law limits security deposits to two months' rent in the first year of a lease and one month's rent from the second year on. After five years in the same place, a rent increase does not require a larger deposit (68 P.S. section 250.511a). Ask the property for its total move-in amount in writing before paying anything. Apartment List does not charge renters a fee, so every fee you are checking for belongs to the property.

How Do You Find Lower Rent in Philadelphia?

The medians above are citywide. Which Philadelphia neighborhoods cost least, how they compare on walkability and commute, and how they score on published safety data are questions the neighborhood guides answer in full:

• Cheapest neighborhoods in Philadelphia

• Best neighborhoods in Philadelphia

• Safest neighborhoods in Philadelphia

To bring rent down without changing neighborhoods, the Apartment List Rent Calculator sizes an affordable range from your income and debts, and Rate My Rent grades a specific listing against comparable local apartments. That grade is a starting point for questions to ask the building, not a verdict on the unit.

Compare Philadelphia With Your Current City

If you are moving to Philadelphia from somewhere else, compare total cost rather than rent alone. The Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares two cities using after-tax income and includes data from the Council for Community and Economic Research.

Philadelphia's rent is the lowest of the corridor cities here on the all-sizes median, and its wage tax takes 3.735% of what residents earn, which is about $165 a month on the income that one-bedroom median implies. Run the after-tax comparison, not the rent one.

Browse Philadelphia apartments and start comparing real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Income figures are calculations based on the cited Apartment List rent medians and the 30% rent-to-income benchmark, not measured income data.

Frequently Asked Questions About Philadelphia Rent & Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Philadelphia?

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the median all-sizes rent in Philadelphia is $1,447 as of August 2026, with one-bedrooms at $1,323 and two-bedrooms at $1,530. Apartment List reports a median rather than an average, because a median better represents a typical apartment and is less distorted by a handful of luxury units.

Is Philadelphia Rent Going Up or Down?

Up slightly, which makes it unusual. According to the Apartment List Rent Index, Philadelphia rent rose 0.76% over the twelve months to August 2026 while the national median fell 0.76%. Month over month it was flat at 0.12%. The move itself is small; what it shows is that Philadelphia is not softening the way the country is.

Is Philadelphia the Cheapest City on the Northeast Corridor?

On the all-sizes median, yes among the large corridor cities compared here. According to the Apartment List Rent Index, Philadelphia's $1,447 as of August 2026 sits below Baltimore at $1,514, Newark at $1,692, Washington at $2,171, Boston at $2,515, and Jersey City at $2,527. On one-bedrooms it is third rather than first, because Newark at $1,268 and Baltimore at $1,281 both come in under Philadelphia's $1,323.

Is Rent Cheaper Inside Philadelphia City Limits Than in the Metro?

Yes at every unit size, but by very different amounts. According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the city median of $1,447 is 9.1% below the $1,592 metro median as of August 2026. At one bedroom the gap narrows to 4.7%, and at two bedrooms it is 9.2%. Use the unit size you are actually searching for rather than the all-sizes figure.

How Much More Does a Two-Bedroom Cost Than a One-Bedroom in Philadelphia?

About $207 a month. The median one-bedroom is $1,323 and the median two-bedroom is $1,530 as of August 2026, according to the Apartment List Rent Index. That is the cost of the larger apartment, not the cost per person: two renters splitting that two-bedroom equally would pay about $765 each.

What Salary Do You Need to Rent in Philadelphia?

Using Apartment List's August 2026 median one-bedroom rent of $1,323, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $52,920 in annual gross income ($1,323 x 12 / 0.30). This is a planning benchmark, not a requirement, and it uses gross income, while the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator uses after-tax income and will give a different number. Philadelphia's 3.735% resident wage tax makes that gap wider here than in most cities.

How Much Are Utilities in a Philadelphia Apartment?

About $217 a month for electricity and water together. At 500 kWh on PECO's default service, electricity runs about $121, which works out above both the Pennsylvania and national average residential rates. The Philadelphia Water Department's typical residential bill is about $96 a month under rates effective September 1, 2026, on 430 cubic feet of use through a standard meter. Because Pennsylvania is deregulated, shopping for a generation supplier is the main way to move the electricity figure.

How Much Is the Philadelphia City Wage Tax?

Philadelphia taxes residents 3.735% of earned income. On the $52,920 that the median one-bedroom implies at the 30% benchmark, that comes to about $1,977 a year, or roughly $165 a month. The tax follows both residence and workplace, so non-residents who work in the city owe a separate rate on what they earn there, and moving outside the city line does not remove it if the job stays.

How Do Solo and Shared Philadelphia Budgets Compare?

According to the Apartment List Rent Index, at the August 2026 medians a two-bedroom costs about $765 per renter if two people split it equally, against $1,323 for a one-bedroom on your own. That is a difference of about $558 a month, or $6,696 a year, before utilities and fees. That $765 share corresponds to about $30,600 in annual gross income at the rent-only 30% benchmark.

Is 30% of Income a Hard Limit for Rent?

No. It is a widely used benchmark, and HUD treats housing costs above 30% of income, including utilities, as cost-burdened. According to Apartment List research, about 51.8% of U.S. renter households are cost-burdened and 26.1% are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half their income on housing, based on 2024 ACS data. Those are national figures, not Philadelphia specific.