How much has the cost of living spiked in a year? PA city named 11th in US
Philadelphia had the greatest spike in cost of living in Pennsylvania from 2024 to 2025, according to one recent analysis, and it also landed 11th in the nation for increase in cost of living.
In the March 16 report “Where Cost of Living Increased and Decreased Most – 2026 Study,” financial website SmartAsset found Philadelphia had a 6.26% increase over a one-year period, bringing the city’s cost of living to 7.2% above the national average.
“The cost of living premium in a specific location reflects the relative cost of housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and other common necessities, compared to the rest of the country,” SmartAsset’s report reads.
The analysis compared 236 locations in the U.S. on cost of living changes over a year, using data from the Council for Community and Economic Research on pricing for housing, transportation, utilities, medical costs and more, adjusted for inflation.
Nationally, grocery prices are up 2.4% from February 2025 to February 2026, according to the BLS Consumer Price Index, with a 3.9% increase in restaurant dining prices. Electricity is up 4.8%, medical care services are up 4.1% and transportation costs are up 2.2%. Average gas prices in Pennsylvania are up by more than 80 cents per gallon in just one month.
Five other Pennsylvania locales also made the list – Wayne County ranked 40th, Pittsburgh was 112th, Allentown was 136th, Scranton was 167th and Wilkes-Barre was 196th.
In Philadelphia, real estate prices have played a role in the increased cost of living. The median sale price of a Philadelphia home increased by 6% from February 2025 to February 2026, according to real estate company Redfin.
While State College was not included in SmartAsset’s cost of living analysis, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Living Wage Calculator reports a single resident there without children needs to earn $24.29 per hour to afford necessities.
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25, the same as the federal minimum, but a bill aiming to increase it to $15 by 2029 recently passed the Pennsylvania House.
Where is cost of living increasing the most in the US?
Here’s how the top 15 cities and metro areas with the greatest increases in cost of living from 2024 to 2025 compared, according to SmartAsset:
1. Great Falls, Mont.: 9.78% increase in cost of living
2. Springfield, Mo.: 8.25%
3. Rapid City, S.D.: 7.73%
4. Orange County, Calif.: 7.3%
5. Monroe, La.: 7.14%
6. Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa: 6.8%
7. Augusta-Aiken, Ga.-S.C.: 6.66%
8. Champaign-Urbana, Ill.: 6.64%
9. Asheville, N.C.: 6.48%
10. Grand Junction, Colo.: 6.29%
11. Philadelphia, Pa.: 6.26%
12. Prescott-Prescott Valley, Ariz.: 6.22%
13. Dalton, Ga.: 6.16%
14. New York (Manhattan), N.Y.: 6.12%
15. Ponca City, Okla.: 6.1%
Some U.S. cities and metro areas saw relief in cost of living from 2024 to 2025. Those with the greatest declines in cost of living included Meridian, Miss., Orlando and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., Charleston-North Charleston, S.C., and Hutchinson, Kansas, according to SmartAsset.
