Cost of Living in Philadelphia, PA (2026): What Renters Should Budget

Updated October 2026. Rent figures reflect September 2026 estimates from Apartment List's October report.

According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes in Philadelphia is $1,436, with one-bedrooms at $1,313 and two-bedrooms at $1,519. That's about 3.5% above the national median of $1,388, and still the lowest of the large Northeast corridor cities compared here, $72 under Baltimore and $230 under Newark.

A renter living alone in a median one-bedroom should plan on about $1,970 a month for rent, electricity, water, and groceries, before transit, internet, insurance, and anything else. Philadelphia also has a 3.735% city wage tax, about $163 a month at the income that one-bedroom implies, so if you're weighing it against another city, compare take-home pay as well as rent.

Philadelphia Cost of Living at a Glance

Source for rent rows: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent 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 $1,313, according to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index. Two-bedrooms run $1,519 and the all-sizes median is $1,436.

Philadelphia is one of the large markets where rent is still rising: up 0.82% over the 12 months through September 2026 while the national median fell 0.39%, though it slipped 0.68% in September alone. An 0.82% annual move is close to flat, so Philadelphia is holding steady while the national median slips.

Neither figure tells you what a specific building is asking, so ask about concessions, fees, and the move-in total, then compare the quote against the medians above.

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

A one-bedroom runs $1,313 against a citywide median of $1,436, or about 91 cents on the dollar. Across the 50 largest U.S. cities that figure is closer to 86 cents (Apartment List, October 2026 report), and Philadelphia has the ninth-narrowest gap of the fifty.

A one-bedroom costs closer to the citywide median here than in most big cities, so the headline figure is a closer guide to what a solo renter pays than it is in most large cities. It still overstates a one-bedroom by about $123 a month, so shop against the one-bedroom figure.

How the City Median Compares With the Metro Median

According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro median is $1,585 across all apartment sizes, against the city's $1,436. The city runs below its metro at every unit size, but by very different amounts.

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates.

The gap is nearly twice as large on two-bedrooms as on one-bedrooms, so the unit size you're searching for changes how much it's worth to you. The metro figure covers Philadelphia itself alongside Camden, Wilmington, and the communities around them, so it's 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 Other Northeast Cities?

Philadelphia is the cheapest major city on the corridor at $1,436 on the all-sizes median, at least among the large cities compared here, and the corridor climbs steeply from there.

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates.

Washington is $738 more, Boston $1,063, and Jersey City $1,096, roughly three-quarters of Philadelphia's entire median rent. On one-bedrooms the order changes: Newark comes in at $1,249 and Baltimore at $1,276, both below Philadelphia's $1,313, 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, so compare the size you're shopping rather than reading either figure as a proxy. Washington, Boston, and Jersey City cost more at every unit size.

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

Using the $1,313 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $52,520 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 between two renters. Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates.

The 30% figure is the share of gross income the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers affordable, and HUD counts utilities inside it where this table does not, so add the electricity and water figures from the At-a-Glance table to get closer to a housing budget. Use gross income here; the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator asks for take-home pay, so its answer will differ, and it will differ by more in Philadelphia than in a city without a local wage tax, because 3.735% comes out of a resident's paycheck before anything else.

Treat these as planning benchmarks, not salary requirements or screening rules. Many renter budgets don't fit beneath 30%: Apartment List research found that 51.8% of U.S. renter households spent more than that on rent in 2024, a national figure rather than a Philadelphia one. Our guide to the 30% rule and how much to spend on rent walks through when to flex it.

How Do You Know if You Can Afford a Philadelphia Apartment?

Run the math in whichever direction you need. From your salary, multiply annual gross income by 0.30 and divide by 12 for the monthly rent the benchmark points to: on $60,000 that's about $1,500, which fits the $1,313 one-bedroom median with $187 to spare, and electricity and water at the planning figures above take about $217 of that, so at that income a median one-bedroom plus utilities already runs past the rent-only benchmark. From a listing, divide the advertised rent, or your share of a split, by 0.30 and multiply by 12 to see the income it implies; a $1,700 listing points to about $68,000. Then add the other costs your household carries, ask what rent includes, and compare that fuller figure against your take-home pay and debts before applying. The Apartment List Rent Calculator runs it against your actual income and debts instead of a flat percentage.

What Should You Budget Beyond Rent in Philadelphia?

Price the costs that apply to you, then confirm which charges the building bills separately.

Electricity

Budget about $121 a month at 500 kWh if you stay on PECO's default supply, plus a few dollars of program riders on top. PECO delivers the power, but Pennsylvania is deregulated, so you choose the company that generates it, and if you never choose you pay PECO's default price to compare, which covers generation and transmission together. The full bill works out to about 24 cents a kilowatt-hour, above both the Pennsylvania and national averages. The supply portion is the only part you can change, so compare offers against the default at PAPowerSwitch before you move in, and ask whether the unit has its own meter and who the current supplier is.

Water, Sewer, and Stormwater

Budget about $96 a month if the water bill is yours. The Philadelphia Water Department bills water, sewer, and stormwater together, and that figure is its typical residential bill on 430 cubic feet through a standard meter under the rates that took effect September 1, 2026. About a quarter of it is the stormwater charge, which is billed on the property rather than on your use, so conserving water doesn't reduce it. Many rowhouse conversions fold water into rent, so ask rather than assume, and households at or below 150% of the federal poverty level may qualify for the Tiered Assistance Program, which sets the bill as a share of income.

City Wage Tax

Philadelphia charges residents a wage tax of 3.735% on earned income. On the $52,520 that the one-bedroom median implies at the 30% benchmark, that is about $1,962 a year, or $163 a month, withheld from your paycheck.

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.

Transit

SEPTA charges $2.90 for a bus or Metro ride, with two free transfers within two hours when you pay with a SEPTA Key card or contactless payment (cash and Quick Trip fares don't include transfers), and a monthly TransPass+ is $116, so the pass pays off at 40 rides. That base fare ties New York's for the highest in the country after a 21.5% increase in September 2025, and SEPTA's FY2027 budget holds it flat. 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; compare $116 against your own car payment, insurance, fuel, and parking before ruling out a pricier apartment closer in.

Groceries

The national USDA Moderate-Cost plan puts groceries for one adult at about $440 a month, as of the August 2026 report. That's a national benchmark for food you cook at home, not a Philadelphia price, so treat it as a starting point and adjust for your household and how often you eat out.

How Do Solo and Shared Philadelphia Budgets Compare?

Source: Apartment List's October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. The shared column splits one two-bedroom, one electric bill, and one water bill between two renters; groceries don't split, and neither does the wage tax, which follows each renter's own income. Transit and other costs are excluded; see the appendix.

Splitting a two-bedroom equally costs about $553 a month less per renter in rent than a one-bedroom on your own, roughly $6,636 a year, and about $661 less once you count the shared utility bills. The $206 step from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom is about 15.7% here, under the 19.5% typical across the 50 largest U.S. cities (Apartment List, October 2026 report), so the second bedroom is a little cheaper to add here than in most big cities.

What Should You Check Before Applying for a Philadelphia Apartment?

Before paying an application fee, confirm what the building bills separately: 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; and whether parking is included and what a residential permit costs on that block. Then get the total move-in cost in writing, including first month, deposit, and every unit-level fee the listing detail page discloses (application, admin, pet, parking). Pennsylvania law caps security deposits at two months' rent in the first year of a lease and one month's rent from the second year on (68 P.S. section 250.511a), and Apartment List does not charge renters a fee of its own, so every fee you're checking belongs to the property.

The estimate you build from a listing's rent and its charges is specific to that one apartment, not a citywide total, and it is the number that should drive the decision. Rate My Rent grades a specific listing against comparable nearby apartments, and for neighborhood picks see our guides to the cheapest neighborhoods, best neighborhoods, and safest neighborhoods in Philadelphia. If you're moving in from elsewhere, the Apartment List Cost of Living Calculator compares your current city against Philadelphia using after-tax income, which matters here because the wage tax takes 3.735% before rent. Then browse Philadelphia apartments and run the check on real listings.

Appendix: Methodology and Data Sources

Rent figures come from the Apartment List Rent Estimates, October 2026 release, with data as of September 2026, built on the Apartment List Rent Estimate Methodology, a same-unit, repeat-transaction analysis.

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

The $1,970 monthly planning total combines the median one-bedroom rent with the electricity, water, and grocery estimates from the At-a-Glance table. Electricity assumes 500 kWh a month on PECO's default supply, covering the customer charge, delivery, generation, and transmission but not the small program riders; water is the Water Department's typical residential bill on 430 cubic feet. Both are modeled from published rates rather than reported as apartment averages, and your own usage will move them. The total excludes the city wage tax, transit, internet, renter's insurance, parking, a car, debt payments, and anything discretionary.

Frequently Asked Questions About Philadelphia Rent & Cost of Living

What Is the Average Rent in Philadelphia?

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. The median all-sizes rent in Philadelphia is $1,436 as of September 2026, with one-bedrooms at $1,313 and two-bedrooms at $1,519.

Is Philadelphia Rent Going Up or Down?

Up slightly over the year. According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, Philadelphia rent rose 0.82% over the 12 months through September 2026 while the national median fell 0.39%, and it slipped 0.68% in September alone. The annual move is small, so Philadelphia is holding where most of the country is softening.

What Salary Do You Need to Live Comfortably in Philadelphia?

There's no single salary that makes Philadelphia comfortable, since that depends on your debts, savings goals, and how you get around, but the rent-only 30% benchmark gives a planning floor. Using the $1,313 median one-bedroom rent from Apartment List's October 2026 report, the rent-only 30% calculation corresponds to about $52,520 in annual gross income, and the $1,519 two-bedroom to about $60,760. Both are gross figures, and Philadelphia's 3.735% resident wage tax comes out before rent, about $163 a month at that income, so the same salary stretches less here than in a city without one.

How Much Are Utilities in a Philadelphia Apartment?

About $217 a month for electricity and water together: about $121 at 500 kWh on PECO's default service, which runs above both the Pennsylvania and national average rates, and about $96 for the Water Department's typical residential bill under the rates effective September 1, 2026. Shopping a generation supplier is the main way to move the electricity figure, and many rowhouse conversions include water in rent, so confirm what rent covers.

How Much Is the Philadelphia City Wage Tax?

Philadelphia charges residents a wage tax of 3.735% on earned income, about $1,962 a year or $163 a month on the $52,520 the one-bedroom median implies at the 30% benchmark. Non-residents who work in the city owe 3.425% on what they earn there, so moving outside the city line trims the rate rather than removing it if the job stays.

How Do Solo and Shared Philadelphia Budgets Compare?

At the September 2026 median, a two-bedroom would cost about $760 per renter if two people split the rent equally, against $1,313 for a one-bedroom you pay for on your own (Apartment List, October 2026 report), a difference of roughly $553 a month, or $6,636 a year, before utilities and fees. That $760 share corresponds to about $30,400 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.