Report: Less costly to live in rural Pa. but prices still soared statewide

By Eric Scicchitano

ERICS@CNHINEWS.COM

HARRISBURG — It’s cheaper to live in rural Pennsylvania than in one of the commonwealth’s metro areas, and compared to its neighbors in the northeast, it’s simply less costly to live in the Keystone State, according to a new analysis.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania found that it cost 6.3 percent less to live in rural Pennsylvania than in an urban area in 2023, with the southeastern region of the commonwealth easily the most expensive.

The commonwealth’s cost of living was slightly higher than the national average, the report shows.

The bipartisan, bicameral legislative agency released a cost-of-living analysis examining the differences from one county to the next as well as state to state. The analysis is the center’s first since 2018 and its fourth since the inaugural report in 1992.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania pitches its report as one that should inform policymakers when taking action to reverse population trends that show rural counties projected to decline by 5.8 percent by See COSTLY, Page A3

Continued from Page A1 2050 compared to 4.1 percent growth for urban areas, mainly in the Philadelphia region. The center finds that the commonwealth’s population will rise by 1.6 percent midway through the 21st century.

“Relocation to a place with a lower cost of living can mean an immediate increase in ‘real’ (price-adjusted) income or standard of living, which can make rural areas more attractive. Combined with other factors like quality of life, proximity to family, recreational opportunities, and many others, cost of living could be the deciding factor for individuals considering relocation,” the report states.

The study examines raw price data computed by the Council for Community and Economic Research used to create its Cost-of-Living Index. Expenses on groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care and more all are considered.

Because of the data used, the analysis isn’t able to break down the increase of individual cost factors. However, taken altogether, Pennsylvania saw prices grow by 23.2 percent since the last study, according to consumer price index data.

The increase from 2017 to 2020 had only been 5 percent, according to the analysis. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic tumult, prices soared through 2023, the analysis shows.

Pennsylvania’s price increases do fall below the western and southern regions and the national average on the whole, little solace for consumers who’ve found the dollar doesn’t stretch like it did six years ago.

According to the analysis, 42 counties fell below Pennsylvania’s average cost of living while 25 exceeded the index. Philadelphia and its suburbs in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties were the most expensive locales. Aside from Forest County which was clearly the least costly on the index, many of the counties considered cheapest to live were jumbled within a similar range including Indiana, Cambria, Somerset, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence and Northumberland.

Counties along Pennsylvania’s northern border, from Erie in the west to Wayne in the east, all fell below the state average. The same goes for all but one county, Washington, along the commonwealth’s western border.