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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Allentown to Syracuse

Allentown, PA vs Syracuse, NY

Simple answer

You'd likely save $346 a month in Syracuse.

This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.

The largest cost gap in this pair is Census rent. Census median gross rent differs by $344, with Allentown higher.

Pennsylvania taxes wages at a flat 3.07%. New York taxes wages at rates up to 10.90%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.2 percentage points, higher in New York. The effective property tax gap is 0.30 percentage points, higher in New York.

After a move from Pennsylvania to New York, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.

A $75,000 salary in Allentown lines up with about $71,829 in Syracuse on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Allentown

Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,839
HUD area
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,458
All-items price parity
100.0
Goods price parity
100.6
Utilities price parity
107.6
Mean commute
28.2 min
Median household income
$83,974

Syracuse

Syracuse, NY

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,493
HUD area
Syracuse, NY MSA
Census median gross rent
$1,114
All-items price parity
95.7
Goods price parity
99.7
Utilities price parity
133.4
Mean commute
21.7 min
Median household income
$76,313

Equivalent salary

The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.

Same buying power

$71,829

Salary in Syracuse that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$73,631

Gross salary in Syracuse whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$60,889

Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.

Taxes on the two sides of the move

TaxPennsylvaniaNew York
State income tax on wages3.07% flatup to 10.90%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20266.3%8.5%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.16%1.45%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $4,631 a year in Pennsylvania and $5,818 in New York. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in New York

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Pennsylvania and once in New York. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    AllentownLikely eligible

    SyracuseLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    AllentownLikely eligible

    SyracuseLikely eligible

  • WIC

    AllentownLikely eligible

    SyracuseLikely eligible

  • School meals

    AllentownLikely eligible

    SyracuseLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    AllentownMaybe

    SyracuseMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    AllentownLikely eligible

    SyracuseLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    AllentownLikely eligible

    SyracuseLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    AllentownUnlikely

    SyracuseUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    AllentownLikely eligible

    SyracuseLikely eligible

  • SSI

    AllentownUnlikely

    SyracuseUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for New York · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Allentown

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Allentown.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.