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

What housing costs in Scranton

Median gross rent, meaning contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities, runs $755, $999 and $1,198 a month for one, two and three bedrooms across Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA. The largest of those is 59% more than the smallest.

Homeowners in Scranton report a median home value of $187,200. Against a median household income of $65,158, the ratio is 2.9× — one of the gentler home-price-to-income ratios in the country.

Price levels matter beyond rent. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures Scranton's overall prices at 93.6 on a scale where the nation is 100, which makes a $100,000 salary feel like about $106,888 would elsewhere.

Scranton: the pre-tax income for each grade

For two bedrooms, $106,000 is where Scranton turns Comfortable. Below that, $53,000 marks the start of Okay and $26,000 the start of Tight; under $26,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 11% of gross pay.

Reaching Royal takes $330,000 — 3.1× the Comfortable line — because the last points come slowly once rent is already a small share.

Each figure is the lowest income, to the next $1,000, at which the calculator itself would show that grade for a two-bedroom in Scranton.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Scranton

On $75,000, a one-bedroom scores 60 and a three-bedroom 53, both Okay; the extra bedrooms cost points but not a grade.

The two-bedroom column turns Comfortable at the $150,000 row. One row up, $100,000 scores 64.

Scranton compared with every US metro

Ranked against all 387 metros, Scranton sits 193rd on overall price level and 288th on the two-bedroom rent median, counting from the most expensive. Its median home value ranks 330th.

Laredo, TX ($1,002) and Yuma, AZ ($999) bracket Scranton on two-bedroom rent.

Scranton vs. the rest of Pennsylvania

Compared with Pennsylvania as a whole, two-bedroom rent in Scranton is 20% lower ($999 vs. $1,245) and the median home is 26% lower ($187,200 vs. $254,500).

The Pennsylvania figure for the Comfortable line, using state medians, is $150,000 against $106,000 for Scranton.

Within Pennsylvania, the metros closest to Scranton on rent and overall prices are Williamsport, PA, Erie, PA, and Chambersburg, PA. Their Comfortable lines for two bedrooms sit at $103,000, $94,000, and $129,000.

Does the typical Scranton income clear the bar?

What about a typical local household? Census puts median household income here at $65,158, which grades Okay (51) for a two-bedroom at the median rent. Put differently, Scranton's typical household is $40,842 below the $106,000 it takes to read Comfortable on two bedrooms. For Pennsylvania as a whole, the median household income of $77,971 scores 46 against statewide rents. Since a household can have two or more earners, compare it with a combined income rather than one paycheck.

Estimates use pre-tax income and public data; they are not financial advice.