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Daycare Cost Calculator for Scranton, PA
Local data pre-filled
Daycare in Scranton, PA costs approximately $1,020/month per child, based on a cost of living index of 85. That's about 19.2% of the median household income. Estimate your total childcare costs and explore tax credit eligibility.
✓ Calculator below is pre-filled with Scranton local data
Data as of · Sources: Zillow, Census ACS, Tax Foundation, Freddie Mac
Pennsylvania Financial Snapshot (2026) — Daycare Cost Calculator
Local cost-of-living pushes typical expense for the daycare cost calculator in Pennsylvania.
How the Daycare Cost Calculator Math Works Under Pennsylvania Law
The Daycare Cost Calculator runs a well-known formula (principal × rate, discounted cash flow, amortization, or equivalent) client-side and layers on Pennsylvania's tax and cost-of-living inputs. State-specific numbers — brackets, exemptions, and averages — come from public federal / state datasets cited in the sources section.
Local context: Scranton, PA
Housing economics in Scranton, PA. The median home value runs 39.3% below the U.S. baseline for Scranton, PA is $217,200 per Zillow's home-value index. Median rent runs $1,320 a month per Zillow ZORI, cheaper than the national $1,850 baseline. Effective property tax sits at 1.50% of assessed value, meaningfully higher than the 0.99% national average tracked by the Tax Foundation.
Income and tax climate. Pennsylvania's top marginal state income tax bracket lands at 3.07% — compared to the volume-weighted national average around 4-5%. BEA's Regional Price Parity scores Scranton, PA at 85.0 (national = 100), meaning a dollar in Scranton, PA buys 118¢ — more goods and services than the same dollar nationally.
Local context as of 2026-04-19.
Scranton versus the U.S. baseline
| Metric | Scranton, PA | U.S. baseline | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value[zillow] | $217,200 | $358,000 | -39.3% |
| Median monthly rent[zillow] | $1,320 | $1,850 | -28.6% |
| Property tax (effective)[tax-foundation] | 1.50% | 0.99% | 51.5% |
| State top marginal income tax[tax-foundation] | 3.07% | ~4.08% (volume-weighted) | -1.0 pp |
| State cost-of-living index[bea-rpp] | 85.0 | 100.0 | -15.0 pts |
How to use the Daycare Cost Calculator
Walk through using the Daycare Cost Calculator with Scranton, PA-specific defaults pre-loaded from primary sources.
- Enter your Scranton numbersFill in the daycare cost inputs. Defaults reflect Scranton, PA 2026: median home $217,200, median rent $1,320/mo, 1.50% effective property tax.
- Apply the local 2026 inputsThe median home value in Scranton is $217,200 (Zillow ZHVI), with median monthly rent running $1,320/mo.
- Compare against Scranton contextMonthly PITI on the $217,200 median home in Scranton is ~$1,567/mo — vs a $1,320/mo median rent.
How Pennsylvania Compares to Neighboring States
| State | Median home | Top inc tax | Prop tax rate | RPP (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania (this page) | $265,000 | 3.07% | 1.49% | 97.4 |
| Delaware side-by-side | $350,000 | 6.60% | 0.58% | 98.8 |
| check Maryland | $415,000 | 5.75% | 1.09% | 104.6 |
| New Jersey | $520,000 | 10.75% | 2.47% | 108.9 |
| see New York | $470,000 | 10.90% | 1.72% | 107.8 |
Sources: Zillow ZHVI[1], state Departments of Revenue / Tax Foundation[2], Tax Foundation property taxes[3], BEA Regional Price Parities[4].
What Changes Your Result in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania cost-of-living drag:Line-item costs in Pennsylvania deviate from the US mean by whatever the BEA all-items RPP deviates from 100. Weight your budget toward the state average rather than the national average.
Related Calculations for Pennsylvania
- how childcare cost works for Pennsylvania residents — near-duplicate slugs — canonical cross-link.
How Scranton Compares to the National Average
Understanding how Scranton stacks up helps you calibrate your financial planning.
| Metric | Scranton, PA | US Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $217,200 | $420,800 | -48.4% |
| Median Monthly Rent | $1,320 | $1,713 | -22.9% |
| Median Household Income | $63,656 | $74,580 | -14.6% |
| Property Tax Rate | 1.50% | 1.10% | +36.4% |
| Cost of Living Index | 85 | 100 | -15.0% |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, Zillow, NAR (2024–2025). Green = favorable for residents; red = less favorable.
Scranton Financial Snapshot
- Population (Metro)
- 560,000
- Unemployment
- 4.4%
- Avg Commute
- 22 min
- Median Age
- 40
- Price-to-Rent Ratio
- 13.7x
- Annual Property Tax
- $3,258
More Financial Calculators for Scranton, PA
Daycare Cost Calculator in Other Pennsylvania Cities
Frequently Asked Questions — Scranton
- Can median-income households afford the median home in Scranton?
- With a ~$1,567 monthly PITI and $63,656 median income, housing would consume ~29.5% of gross annual income. Qualifying under the 28% DTI rule requires ~$67,157 in annual income. Educational reference only.
- Is it better to rent or buy in Scranton?
- Scranton's price-to-rent ratio (13.7x) tilts toward buying — below 15x, homes are economical relative to renting.
- What is the annual property tax bill on the median home in Scranton?
- Approximately $3,258/yr at the 1.50% effective rate on the $217,200 median home. The national average effective rate is 1.07%.
- What share of median income goes to rent in Scranton?
- The $1,320/mo median rent represents 24.9% of the $63,656 median household income. The recommended housing cost threshold is 30%; Scranton falls within that guideline. Educational reference only.
- How much does commuting cost in Scranton?
- Average commute time in Scranton is 22 minutes per ACS. Estimated annual commute cost runs about $3,832. Educational reference only.
- How does the cost of living in Scranton compare to the national average?
- Scranton's BEA RPP index is 85, 15% below the national baseline of 100. For a household earning the national median income of $77,540, this translates to ~$11,631/yr in purchasing power difference. Educational reference only.
- What is the median home price in Scranton, PA?
- The median home price in Scranton is $217,200 as of 2025–2026.
- What is the average rent in Scranton?
- The median monthly rent in Scranton, PA is $1,320.
- Does the daycare cost replace professional advice?
- No. This calculator gives educational estimates using public Scranton data and standard formulas. It is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional for decisions with material consequences.
How we compute this — methodology
The Scranton page uses local median home price ($217,200), median rent ($1,320/mo), and property tax rate (1.50%) alongside the calculator's client-side formula. Calculations run in your browser — no inputs are sent to a server.
Known limits: ZIP-level variance within Scranton can be substantial — the figures shown are city-wide medians. For a precise property tax quote, consult your county assessor.
Sources
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (Zillow Home Value Index) + ZORI (Zillow Observed Rent Index), city-level. zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for median household income and population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs.
- CalcFi state financial context — tips + first-time homebuyer programs compiled from each state's Housing Finance Authority (HFA) public pages. See
src/data/state-financial-context.ts. - Tax Foundation — state property tax effective rates and state/local sales tax rates. taxfoundation.org.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rate averages used by mortgage-related calculators. freddiemac.com/pmms.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by State — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rates — www.freddiemac.com/pmms. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- NAIC Dwelling Fire, Homeowners Owners, and Homeowners Tenants Insurance Report — content.naic.org/article/homeowners-insurance-report. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- State Departments of Revenue — official bracket + deduction publications (one primary URL per state; linked in the brackets table below) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Department of Labor — State Minimum Wage Laws — www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) — real median household income, unemployment, HPI, LFPR per state — fred.stlouisfed.org. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
Spot an error? Email [email protected] with the URL and the correct figure.
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National reference: Daycare Cost Calculator Calculator