Philly Makes List of Most Overpriced Cities

Utilities, groceries and health care cost more than the national average.

Is Philadelphia overpriced? Sure, cheaper rents seem to lure millennials away from higher-priced cities like New York and Washington, D.C. but a new study found that — overall — Philly is hardly a bargain.

Forbes ranked Philly the No. 24 most overpriced city in the country. It reports that Philadelphia had an annual median income of $75,807 and a median home sales price of $212,000 in the fourth quarter of 2014 — but that means just 69.4 percent of the city’s housing is affordable to people earning the median family income level.

Here’s a list of what costs more in Philly compared to the national average:

  • Utilities: 24.4 percent
  • Groceries: 16 percent
  • Transportation: 5.4 percent
  • Health: 1.3 percent

The most overpriced regions:

  1. Honolulu, Hawaii
  2. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.
  3. Boston, Quincy, Mass.
  4. New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.
  5. Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, Mass.

To create the list, Forbes analyzed the 100 largest metropolitan areas (defined the Office of Management and Budget) with populations of 600,000 or more. It examined housing affordability, using data from the fourth quarter of 2014 from the Housing Opportunity Index from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.

Like what you’re reading? Stay in touch with BizPhilly — here’s how: