2013: Cost of Living Pittsburgh (Ross Township, Lebanon: vehicle registration, car insurance, chapel)

[sherilyns]

I haven't had success finding current information on the cost of living for Pittsburgh. I'm trying to prepare a budget for a family of 3 on $67,000 before taxes living in the city (not suburbs) with 1 car, owning a small house (under $200,000 with 30yr mortage). Any thoughts? Any information would be helpful (Average utility bills, cost of food, any unique Pittsburgh expenses)?

Thank you! This forum has been really helpful.

[Moby Hick]

Nothing really unique, but if you come from a rural area or the Midwest or something, property taxes will be higher than you're used to. Probably about $5,000/year on a house of that price. There is also the 3% wage tax that you want to be aware of when you budget. Utility bills vary tremendously by house, but the houses do tend to be older here. They can suck a lot of heat if nobody has tried to seal them up a bit. Winters aren't really cold enough to make heating expensive in a well-sealed house with good windows. The city proper is geographically very small, so you may save gas on the car.

[Hopes]

Unique expenses to research would be our tax structure, especially if you are coming from a region with low property taxes.

Some newcomers are surprised and blown away by our tax structure.

Living in the city, you'll have higher local earned income tax. Local earned income tax: 1% wage tax and 2% school tax

(Most residents in surrounding municipalities just pay 1% because school taxes aren't done via income taxes in other areas.)

State income tax is 3.07%

Unemployment tax is .07%

This gives you a breakdown of payroll tax withholding. Payroll Department, Office of the Chief Financial Officer



Allegheny County property tax is 5.69 millage.

I believe there is a separate property tax for the City of Pittsburgh School District. Someone else will chime in with corrections to what I have provided.


We do not have personal property taxes, but you will have to pay annually for vehicle registration sticker, and inspection and emissions stickers.

Sales tax is 7% but food and clothing are not taxed.

[Hopes]

We can't estimate your mortgage payment because we have no idea what your interest rate would be.

Food and utilities really depend on what region you are coming from----for most they are higher here and for some they are lower here.

One bonus is school bus transportation is free and you are not charged for textbooks, etc., like in other states.

[XRiteMA98]

You can definitely manage to live here on that income. You won't be rich but you wont; be poor either. However East End is more expensive than other parts of the city. Not only taxes but houses too. People in general tend to buy a house in the school district where their kids go. I don;t know what that is going to be in your case.
For example in the city of Pittsburgh you will pay 3% local tax vs ~1% in the suburbs.
When I came to Pgh I lived in S. Hill too and I liked it very much, but later I moved to Mt Lebanon because they have excellent schools and the taxes were lower. My point is your money will go longer in a suburb with good schools and lower local tax. Doesn't have to be Mt. lebanon. There are many good school neighbourhoods out there.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

You can definitely manage to live here on that income. You won't be rich but you wont; be poor either. However East End is more expensive than other parts of the city. Not only taxes but houses too. People in general tend to buy a house in the school district where their kids go. I don;t know what that is going to be in your case.
For example in the city of Pittsburgh you will pay 3% local tax vs ~1% in the suburbs.
When I came to Pgh I lived in S. Hill too and I liked it very much, but later I moved to Mt Lebanon because they have excellent schools and the taxes were lower. My point is your money will go longer in a suburb with good schools and lower local tax. Doesn't have to be Mt. lebanon. There are many good school neighbourhoods out there.

And even more can be saved via moving just a little further out to a surrounding count where property taxes are lower too.

[Moby Hick]

2% of my income isn't worth extending my workday by 5% or more with commuting time included.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

2% of my income isn't worth extending my workday by 5% or more with commuting time included.

It's possible to live in the suburbs and have the same commuting times as city residents.

[sherilyns]

Thanks for your responses. I'm moving from NYC if that matters. I guess what I'd like to know is what would estimates be for utilities for a small 3 bedroom house in the East End. I know this can vary widely depending on usage and efficiency, but what are typical electric bills, water bills, gas bills (assuming gas heat)? Is car insurance expensive?

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Hopes

It's possible to live in the suburbs and have the same commuting times as city residents.

It's really easy. Move to Wilkinsburg. Of course if you want to pay less and have a good school district, it is trickier. The property tax rates in the city aren't actually higher than the suburbs close enough that you can plausibly claim a commute comparable to city living. Pittsburgh has 13.9 mills for the school and 10.8 for the city for a combined total of 24.7 mills. (I'm ignoring the county because it is a constant in this analysis.) Fox Chapel is nearly identical at 23.96 (21.56 mills for the school and 2.4 for the muni). Mt. Lebo has higher rates at 32.56 mills. Franklin Park is a bit lower than the city (22.206) but not by much.

Mt. Lebanon's house prices are about the same as the nicer parts of the East End and it has some houses in the OP's range. If you are making $67k as per the OP, you are paying $1,340 more in income tax in Pittsburgh than in the Allegheny County suburbs. At a house valuation of $170k, you are paying that much in extra property taxes. You'll be hard pressed to find houses in Fox Chapel or Franklin Park that you can afford on that budget and if you do I still think the higher housing prices will eat up the savings on the income taxes.

The numbers do seem come out ahead for Ross Township, but you'd have to really watch where you wound up if you didn't want to get stuck on McKnight. Plus, it would be very much harder to be a two-adult, one-car family in any of these places (except possibly Mt. Lebo).