2026 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Lancaster, CA vs State College, PA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in State College or is it cheaper to live in Lancaster?
- State College is 41.0% less expensive than Lancaster.

Which city has more affordable housing, State College or Lancaster?
- State College housing costs are 14.9% less expensive than Lancaster housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Lancaster or is Health Care more affordable in State College.
- Health related expenses are 41.7% more in State College.
 Lancaster, CAState College, PAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock95.4100
 Food & Groceries98.5  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock126.0100
 Housing132.1  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$355,500$338,100
 Utilities116  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock72.6100
 Miscellaneous133.9  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Lancaster    48 Reviews

Worse than even Compton in some ways... worse than hell overall. This place is so bad you will want to off yourself every day just by being here, but probably not too  More

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Over 6 years ago

I was born here, then grew up here for 17 years and joined the Army as a teen, but constantly went back to visit my parents and friends. I lived there again for 4 years  More

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Over 8 years ago

Moved to the Eastside of Lancaster. I have target, lowes, the whole wheatery, homedepot, bank of America, wells Fargo, Walmart, traders Joe's, Carl's jr, burger king,  More

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Reviews for State College    27 Reviews

I relocated to State College about 30 years ago. We hadn’t planned to stay this long, but life here is “easy”. Outdoor activities are ample. There are many beautiful  More

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State College is a small "safe" town, you will always see friends, coworkers, physicians, mechanics, supervisors...at the doctor's office, in the store, near your home,  More

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Over 16 years ago

I lived in State College, PA all my life untill 2006 when we finally moved south where it was warmer. State College itself is a fun place to be when it comes to football  More

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