What salary do you need to live in Johnstown, PA?

The cost side of living in Johnstown

Renters in Johnstown pay a median $777 a month for two bedrooms. Size matters: one bedroom is $532, three bedrooms $932, so going from the smallest to the largest of the three adds $4,800 a year.

Homeowners in Johnstown report a median home value of $121,000. That is only 2.1× the area's median household income of $58,418, a low ratio by national standards.

BEA's Regional Price Parity for the metro is 85.9, where 100 is the US average. In plain terms, the full basket of goods, services and housing costs 14.1% less than average, so $100,000 here buys roughly what $116,375 would at average US prices.

Johnstown: the pre-tax income for each grade

With a two-bedroom at the median rent, the score enters Tight at $13,000, Okay at $32,000 and Comfortable at $63,000 a year before tax. At the Comfortable line, a year of rent takes 15% of income and the median home is 1.9× income.

Reaching Royal takes $185,000 — 2.9× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.

These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.

What different incomes look like in Johnstown

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 76 and a three-bedroom 67, both Comfortable; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $75,000 row. One row up, $50,000 scores 58.

Where Johnstown falls nationally

Out of 387 metros, Johnstown has the 368th highest price parity and the 387th highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it among the least expensive tenth on overall prices and among the least expensive tenth on rent.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above it on two-bedroom rent are Jefferson City, MO ($804).

Johnstown vs. the rest of Pennsylvania

How Johnstown stacks up against its state: $777 for a two-bedroom against Pennsylvania's $1,245, $121,000 for the median home against $254,500, and a price level of 85.9 against 97.6.

Scored the same way, the statewide figures turn Comfortable at $150,000, so Johnstown needs $87,000 less than Pennsylvania overall.

Looking for somewhere comparable without leaving Pennsylvania? Altoona, PA, Erie, PA, and Williamsport, PA have the closest mix of rent and overall prices.

Does the typical Johnstown income clear the bar?

The median household in the metro earns $58,418 (ACS 2020-2024). Run through the calculator with two bedrooms, that scores 63, Okay. The Comfortable line is 8% above what the median household makes. For Pennsylvania as a whole, the median household income of $77,971 scores 46 against statewide rents. Household income can include more than one earner, so a single salary of the same size goes less far.

All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.