Cost-of-Living Woes Hit American Families Coast to Coast, but How Bad (Or Good) Are Things Here?

To quantify the current household effect of inflation and other economic woes, SmartAsset has parsed data with enough granularity to not only reveal state trends, but county ones, as well.

Its regional evaluation of 2022 purchasing power assessed of the varying outlays for:

• Housing
• Food
• Taxes
• Education/Childcare
• Transportation
• Healthcare
• Household items, clothing, electronics, etc.

The analysis also revealed the percentage change of purchasing power (the weighted cost of living as a percentage of per capita income) with higher percentages indicating more buying power for residents.

In Pa., Montgomery County is faring better than most this year. Its Commonwealth rank — No. 2 — was calculated on a cost of living of $49,518, a per-capita income of $86,340, and a purchasing power index of 43.83 percent.

Only nearby Chester County beat it, coming in at No. 1.

The remaining top ten Pa. counties were:

3. Allegheny
4. Bucks
5. Butler
6. Montour
7. Delaware
8. Washington
9. Cumberland
10. Philadelphia

Nationally, Montco residents’ finances put them at spot No. 113.

More information on 2022 cost-of-living data is at SmartAsset.