State comparison
Pennsylvania vs Texas: which state is better to live in?
Texas costs a median household about $300 a year less in state and local taxes than Pennsylvania, mostly because it has no income tax.
Pennsylvania
Moderate tax burden · COL index 97
Wins 10 categories
Texas
Moderate tax burden · COL index 97
Wins 4 categories
Taxes: Pennsylvania vs Texas
Pennsylvania has a flat 3.07% income tax, which works out to 3.1% on a median income of $74,580, or $2,290 a year. Texas has no state income tax. Texas wins on income tax at 2026 rates.
Property tax is 1.43% of home value a year in Pennsylvania and 1.60% in Texas (Tax Foundation, 2023); on each state's median home that is $3,861 against $5,440, so Pennsylvania has the lower rate.
Combined state and local sales tax averages 6.34% in Pennsylvania and 8.19% in Texas; Pennsylvania is lower.
Add it up for a household earning $74,580 (the 2022 national median) and owning the median home: $7,569 a year in Pennsylvania, $7,272 in Texas. Texas is cheaper on total state and local tax.
Housing and cost of living
Pennsylvania's cost of living index is 97 and Texas's is 97, where 100 is the national average; the two are level.
The median home costs $270K in Pennsylvania and $340K in Texas (Zillow, 2024), a $70K gap in Pennsylvania's favor. A two-bedroom rents for about $1,350 a month in Pennsylvania and $1,600 in Texas.
Home insurance averages $1,100 a year in Pennsylvania and $3,200 in Texas, so Pennsylvania is cheaper to insure.
Safety
Violent crime runs 305 incidents per 100,000 residents in Pennsylvania and 447 in Texas (FBI Crime Data Explorer, 2023); Pennsylvania is the safer state by that measure, with a rate 47% lower. Property crime is 1,394 per 100,000 in Pennsylvania against 2,478 in Texas, again favoring Pennsylvania.
Health
Life expectancy is 77.1 years in Pennsylvania and 76.3 in Texas (County Health Rankings, 2024), a 0.8-year edge for Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth Fund's 2023 scorecard ranks Pennsylvania's health system 17th of 50 and Texas's 36th, so Pennsylvania scores better on care.
6.5% of Pennsylvania residents have no health insurance against 18.4% in Texas, which favors Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania expanded Medicaid and Texas did not.
Schools
Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Pennsylvania's K-12 schools 23rd in the country and Texas's 36th, 13 places apart in Pennsylvania's favor. Both states run school-choice voucher programs.
Laws and politics
In the 2024 presidential election Pennsylvania was a swing state decided by 2 points and Texas went to Trump by 14 points.
Pennsylvania has shall-issue carry permits and a Giffords gun-law grade of C; Texas has permitless carry and a grade of F, so Pennsylvania regulates guns more tightly and Texas is the friendlier state for gun owners.
Abortion is protected by state law in Pennsylvania and banned with narrow exceptions in Texas, and marijuana is medical only in both as of 2026. The minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in Pennsylvania and $7.25 in Texas.
Climate and risk
Natural disaster risk is moderate in Pennsylvania (blizzard, flood, nor-easter) and very high in Texas (hurricane, tornado, flood), so Pennsylvania is the lower-risk state. Annual average air quality index is 47 in Pennsylvania and 43 in Texas (under 50 is good), favoring Texas.
Tax figures use a household earning the national median income and owning each state's median home, at tax year 2026 rates, last checked against state sources on 2026-09-14. The table below has every number.
Taxes
Housing & Cost of Living
Crime & Safety
Healthcare
Education
Childcare
Utilities & Daily Costs
Social Policy
Category wins
10
Pennsylvania
4
Texas
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Score For My Profile →Questions people ask
Is Pennsylvania or Texas better to live in?
Pennsylvania wins more of the measures that decide a move. Texas on taxes ($7,272 a year for a median household against $7,569); Pennsylvania on safety (305 violent crimes per 100,000 against 447); Pennsylvania on schools (ranked 23rd against 36th).
Which is cheaper, Pennsylvania or Texas?
Day-to-day costs are level: both states sit at a cost of living index of 97. The median home is $270K in Pennsylvania and $340K in Texas (2024). On state and local taxes Texas saves a median household about $300 a year.
Does Pennsylvania or Texas have lower taxes?
Texas. A household earning $74,580 pays about $7,569 a year in Pennsylvania ($2,290 income tax, $3,861 property tax on the median home and $1,419 in sales tax) and $7,272 in Texas ($0 income tax, $5,440 property tax on the median home and $1,832 in sales tax), at 2026 rates.
Which is safer, Pennsylvania or Texas?
Pennsylvania, on the FBI's 2023 figures. Violent crime is 305 per 100,000 residents in Pennsylvania and 447 in Texas; property crime is 1,394 against 2,478.
Which has better schools, Pennsylvania or Texas?
Pennsylvania. Education Week's 2023 Quality Counts report ranks Pennsylvania 23rd of 50 for K-12 and Texas 36th.
Is Pennsylvania or Texas better for retirees?
Texas is friendlier to retirees on paper. Pennsylvania does not tax Social Security, exempts pensions and has an inheritance tax; Texas does not tax Social Security, exempts pensions and has no estate or inheritance tax. Property tax on a median home is $3,861 a year in Pennsylvania and $5,440 in Texas.