Cost of living comparison

 South Dakota, USA
compared to
 Pennsylvania, USA
Pennsylvania vs. South Dakota Cost of Living Summary

Pennsylvania is 41.8% more expensive than South Dakota.

Restaurants
pay 1.9% more in Pennsylvania
Groceries
pay 4.8% more in Pennsylvania
Transportation
pay 44.0% more in Pennsylvania
Housing
pay 10.9% more in Pennsylvania
Childcare
pay 3.3 times more in Pennsylvania
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.5% more in Pennsylvania
Clothing
pay 9.7% less in Pennsylvania

The cost of childcare, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Pennsylvania are more expensive than in South Dakota. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania vs. South Dakota Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Pennsylvania instead of South Dakota, you would:

pay 1.9% more for restaurants

 
South Dakota
Pennsylvania
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.00
 
$19.53
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.21
 
$9.30
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.08
 
$2.27
 

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pay 4.8% more for groceries

 
South Dakota
Pennsylvania
Bread
1 loaf
$3.25
 
$3.25
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.20
 
$7.37
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.90
 
$4.35
 

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pay 44.0% more for transportation

 
South Dakota
Pennsylvania
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.32
 
$3.58
 
Monthly public transit pass $30.00
 
$66.58
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,159.27
 
$31,817.25
 

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pay 10.9% more for housing

 
South Dakota
Pennsylvania
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$59.17
 
$62.16
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,077.75
 
$1,357.77
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,002.25
 
$1,179.21
 

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pay 3.3 times more for childcare

 
South Dakota
Pennsylvania
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $725.00
 
$1,481.93
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,800.00
 
$35,614.17
 

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pay 10.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
South Dakota
Pennsylvania
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.12
 
$5.58
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.07
 
$5.03
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.04
 
$11.13
 

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pay 9.7% less for clothing

 
South Dakota
Pennsylvania
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.46
 
$53.27
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$55.00
 
$39.31
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$91.50
 
$83.69
 

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2025
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