Pennsylvania places nab spots on affordable places to live lists

Five places in Pennsylvania recently landed in top spots on national reports.

Two Pennsylvania cities both recently placed in the top 10 of SmartAsset’s most undervalued cities in America.

Pittsburgh, which landed in first last year, nabbed third place this year, while Philadelphia, which landed in second last year, came in eighth. Allentown, which placed eighth last year, did not make the top 10, but was named 14th.

Meanwhile, for WalletHub’s report, 25 Most Affordable Housing Markets, Allegheny County came in 10th, Luzerne County in 22nd and Westmoreland County came in 23rd.

For SmartAsset’s report, Pittsburgh was applauded for its large amount of entertainment and dining options available, as well as the number of days with precipitation and walkability. Compared to last year, Pittsburgh offers $15 more value per square foot. Additionally, crime has gone down since last year, and more educated residents have moved to the area. Home value per square foot rose $10 from last year.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia was named one of the most affordable larger cities. The City of Brotherly Love also offers many dining and entertainment options for residents, and it is the sixth most walkable city in the report. SmartAsset found a difference of $129 between the actual median value per square and their projected median value per square foot.

SmartAsset analyzed each city’s price per square foot based on livability, which included unemployment rate, crime rate, high school graduation rate, number of entertainment and dining establishments and walkability, and compared it to the actual price per square unit. This year, Charleston and Augusta nabbed the top two spots.

The Pittsburgh area ranked highly on WalletHub’s report as well. In Allegany County, 20 percent of income on average is spent on housing. The median home ownership costs $869 a month, while the median rent costs $869 a month. In Westmoreland County, the average amount spent on housing is $21.3 percent of income, with homeownership costing around $653 a month, and rent costing $1,106. Across the state, in Luzerne County, the average spent on housing is 21.3 percent, with the median rent costing $1,108 a month and the average homeownership costing $571 a month.