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Most Affordable Counties in Pennsylvania

Ranked by the share of Pennsylvania occupations whose take-home pay covers a one-bedroom rental, food, home energy and gasoline.

Most affordable counties in Pennsylvania
#CountyJobs covering basicsJobs listed1-bedroom rentMedian household incomeRent / income
1Armstrong County, PA100%28$816/mo$65,00815.1%
2Lawrence County, PA100%28$844/mo$61,93116.4%
3Allegheny County, PA100%28$1,146/mo$78,54817.5%
4Westmoreland County, PA100%28$1,146/mo$74,10918.6%
5Washington County, PA100%28$1,146/mo$78,95817.4%
6Butler County, PA100%28$1,146/mo$89,84315.3%
7Beaver County, PA100%28$1,146/mo$71,08919.3%
8Fayette County, PA100%28$1,146/mo$58,23623.6%
9Philadelphia County, PA99%87$1,558/mo$61,95330.2%
10Montgomery County, PA99%87$1,558/mo$113,91516.4%
11Bucks County, PA99%87$1,558/mo$114,76416.3%
12Delaware County, PA99%87$1,558/mo$89,54620.9%
13Chester County, PA99%87$1,558/mo$127,20814.7%

Most affordable counties in Pennsylvania

We ranked 13 Pennsylvania counties that have at least 20 occupations published on this site. The ranking measures how many of those occupations pay enough, at the local median wage, to cover a one-bedroom rental, food, home energy and gasoline after federal, Social Security, Medicare and state taxes. Armstrong County, PA leads: 100% of its 28 occupations clear that bar, with a HUD one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $816 a month.

Ties are broken by the lower one-bedroom rent, then by population. Where the Census Bureau publishes it, the table also shows median household income (American Community Survey 2020-2024) and what a year of one-bedroom rent equals as a share of it. Open a county to see every occupation and its take-home pay.