Tons of places in western PA you can rent under $1000 a month.

Zillow lists "2,125 results" statewide for rentals under $999.

Awesome, any areas specifically?

Did you check zillow?

Enter these criteria:
“rent,” “$1,000 maximum,” 1 bedroom, 1 bath

get results

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remove boundary

for what? 1 bedroom studio? 3 bedroom house? is the only important thing your rent?

Yeah just rent pretty much lol. What area is the cheapest though and where do you get the best bang for your buck?

https://www.zillow.com/pa/rentals/

set max rent to 1,000

There’s cheap like you don’t leave your house at home alone at night and cheap like you better enjoy the sound of crickets and driving 30 mins to find any sign of civilization.

My town is so small we may have a grocery store but if you are hungry and don’t want to drive or drive far you are SOL. And shit like Door Dash is “not available in my area” 🤣

I live in Erie atm, rent+ utilities are about $600 a month, 700 sq ft one br, you can find better places than mine for a similar price but I was in a rush when I moved here. Downside here is low wages.

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If you enjoy grey skies and a constant cold drizzle. Try Altoona out, you’ll find rent under 1k there.

I live in a studio apartment in Norristown for $1100 rent. 40 minute drive to Philly from here. it’s not too bad

you really need to add some criteria, or just go to https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/ and look.

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you can rent studio apartments in Philly for 1k a month, or whole houses for 1k

that’s pretty metro, our grocery store only takes cash and it’s run by Amish

Indiana pa has a 3 bedroom for 760 a month we are going to check out

Chester

Lawrence County/New Castle. Dirt cheap

I rent a room in a townhouse in Camp Hill for 895. No water bill. No electric bill. All included 895. Zomelle is the company and I think they have other properties around the state.

Oh come on it didn't rain today....it was too cold

Holy shit where do you live ? I pay 1250 for a 3 br that allowes let’s and my utilities are each up to 200$ a month sometimes from the heating & cooling since the utilities went up last year

The OP didn’t say they have a death wish.

Yeah but Altoona has pizza like no one else

Hahaha could prolly buy a place for $1000

Southeast side of Erie(I think, no one here has been good at explaining neighborhoods to me). Neighborhood seems to be shitty but not dangerous, mainly just boring.

Why would you possibly want to live in Schuylkill County.just because the cost of living is low? That is a hellscape I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. The employment situation is terrible as well. Anywhere BUT there.

And not in a good way.

There is always the option of Reading, but even i wouldn't live there. I always say go towards the boonies.

But. Salami!

You dramatically reduce your cost when you rent a 7’ x 3’ room though.

Johnstown probably

I mean, we’ve owned a 3 bedroom mobile home just outside York for the last 7 years and our lot rent is under $500/ month, while a friend has a 3 bedroom apartment and pays closer to 1100 and they are in New Cumberland. We’re in a decent suburban area just off of 83 and are 20 minutes away from York/ Harrisburg/ Mechanicsburg while they’re on the Main Street above a row of businesses. I think it really all depends on location of where you are looking and what surroundings, amenities and traveling time you prefer.

There’s a reason rent is cheap in some places: no one wants to live there. I sure as hell wouldn’t pick anywhere in the coal region. Mahanoy City is a dump.

The question for me is, do you work? Work from home, looking for a job? That type of stuff may determine your living situation.

2 lanes 76 freeway 😭

So many trains and busses

It was sunny and 55 today.

I came here to say, "Chester, North Philadelphia"

Only if you want shot.

If you drive, check out Peach Bottom.

i live next door in hummelstown and my rent is 1675 😭

You can be in the nice areas of Pittsburgh and still find one bedrooms for less then $1000. If you’re willing to be a little flexible where you’re living you can get 2 or 3 bedrooms for that.

Live there can confirm. I live here because the cost of living is dirt cheap but I commute to Lehigh Valley because pay is only good there.

Over by widner is okish.

There's a lot of cheap places in the coal belt because a lot of those towns are dying.

Honesdale/Hawley.

I bought a 3 br house in Port Allegany for $40,000. And that was because we got tired of renting a house for $500/month.

We have since moved, but Hazel Hurst/Smethport/Port has got to be among the cheapest places.

Mon valley

When I lived there east side had quite the rep but it really varies block by block on danger level

I lived in PA all my life (until I moved bc too many areas just changed too much) I will always love it, it’ll always be home. But you couldn’t pay me to live there again! However to be fair- I feel that way about several states! However only one I’ve actually lived in, and that’s PA. But hey- there’s worse I’m sure!!!! If you’re moving for work, that’s one thing, depending on your reasons, you may want to look at some surrounding states that are not only much nicer but more affordable (don’t do NJ if you want affordable!)

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Centralia. Bring your own tent.

Just remember real estate right now people are renting out studio apartments, that are total crap holes for the most they can get, do your homework on ANY area, and look into the incomes, so you know what you will be capable of earning. My sister still lives in PA, she is a single woman supporting herself and she’s finally tired of working constantly for the bare minimum, and dealing with slum lords. She won’t buy bc she knows she isn’t staying in PA forever. She’s about to ready start looking at other states. Just really do your homework. Every friend I have, moved out of PA, like literally! Every person I know is now spread across the country.

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My sis in law moved from Philly to Altoona, we took bets on how long before she came back! We all overestimated her! Lol! She just couldn’t adjust out there after growing up in good ole South Philly!

There are a lot of places in Pennsylvania that you could pay less than that for a mortgage. I think it depends whether you mind living in the middle of nowhere, ie where you can't get a pizza delivered

I don’t know what parts of Philly you’ll find a whole house for rent under 1k a month! I owned properties in Philly and sold them. My in laws all own many rental properties and they’re actually very fair when it comes to their rentals. And even they don’t have anything for under 1k a month. Their cheapest is a 2 bdrm 1 bath, for 1200 plus utilities. But it’s also been completely renovated just about a year or so ago, so it’s immaculate, and honestly most landlords would be asking more or less 1500-1800 for this specific property. I’ve seen units that are “affordable” if you want to wear Kevlar from head to toe.

Absolutely facts. So true. I couldn’t tell someone to just live somewhere, bc it’s cheap- without informing them of everything else they’re getting into! And believe me the least of it. Is a cheap apartment!

What’s wrong with Schuylkill? I live in Delco but I’ve wanted to move to Pottsville for a few years now after visiting a few times.

sorry, meant "you can rent a studio in Philly", OR a whole house somewhere else.

Ah that is definitely accurate!!!!

Grew up there. Can confirm.

I rent a 4 bedroom apartment about 2 hours from Pittsburgh for $425

If you're nomadic, primitive camping is free in the forests without a permit!

Shamokin

I live in a bad part of philly. They’ll be fine. I also visited johnstown quite a lot when i was dating my ex and never felt unsafe there.

No

I moved to Altoona from Tacoma, Washington. Come talk to me about grey skies and drizzle. This is nothing! 🙂

Unless you can work from home, be careful. Very cheap rent usually means crap jobs. You get what you pay for. Make sure you check out the area and the place itself. Look for water damage, crime %, what stores are around etc.

McKean county. Avg house price is 80,000

When I was in Scranton rent was pretty cheap

expecting someone to even put in the barest minimum of work before searching? come on man... /s

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seriously people, at least fucking try

Probably any of the failed coal towns i.e. Pottsville, mount carmel, etc.

Give a man a fish and all. Maybe this helped someone become self sufficient.

Lehigh is the diamond in the rough of NEPA. It's where a lot of my friends and family moved to after leaving the Poconos. I just can't leave the beauty of this place for the fields and warehouses, but damn I can't deny the money is better. My wife commutes there as well for work and I have several times with different jobs.

I do think Nazareth is becoming an interesting spot.

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Central PA I've seen rentals as low as $600/month. But it's in an economical depressed area where most jobs are fast food or Walmart.

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Be prepared to commute for work unless youwant to work for cents per hour

You could try Berwick if you're looking to be depressed, get into hard drugs, and live in a shithole.

Im paying 600 downtown york studio i feel very fortunate. Its not too bad either cool victorian home. York very cheap rent and character/history. If yoy know how to live in city ita safe.

I feel like writing this post literally took more effort than doing a simple search on zillow or realtestate.con lol?

The Skook like you said is pretty cheap. So would be Hazelton in Luzerne County and the towns of the Panther Valley in Carbon County like Lansford.

Shhhhh

I’m near S York County (in MD) and it’s not too bad at all in Shrewsbury/ New Freedom

I wouldn't consider the Lehigh Valley part of NEPA though.

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It’s behind the times, but I wouldn’t call it a “hellscape.” It has a certain charm, and to some who live here, crowded 4-lane highways lined with Paneras and Jersey Mikes as far as the eye can see is more terrifying.

There is history here and good people and opportunities for those who care. I can speak for Pottsville in particular: just got a state-of-the-art Alvernia Campus on top of a slew of new small businesses downtown (axe-throwing place going in soon, new ice cream shop). Yuengling is slowly but surely increasing their community involvement and events as the new guard moves in.

Don’t truly judge a place until you live it and actually know it. And if you lived here 20 years ago, it’s not the same.

Zillow says Susquehanna County is doable.

Oof. Sorry that you feel that way. Hopefully, someday, you will find a way out of the skook. I lived there for a few decades and eventually found out that there is such a better world out there that isn't decades behind other counties. A quick Google search would tell you all the statistics that you need about why it's a terrible county to live in. The hillbilly and redneck mentality Is also a good reason to stay away. Anything good that is in the county is far more plentiful elsewhere. Some people just bleed Guers and piss Yeungling. I'm glad I'm not one of them anymore. Best decision I ever made in my life was leaving that wasteland.

I lived in New England for six years. I lived in NYC for a year. I know some of the other living situations out there. You presume much. Your comments make more sense to me now.

I live in Sandy Lake PA and I have a 4 bedroom house for 700 that has a bunch of land and everything is included except electric (he pays for my heating oil is what that means & I have a well)

Yeah, NEPA ends at the Lehigh Tunnel.

Carbon county

edit: specifically- nesquehoning, Lansford, East side Jim Thorpe, the heights in Jim Thorpe, Lehighton borough, Weissport, Bowmanstown.

I live in Berwick and it’s really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, I’d rather be here than any coal patch town or freaking hazelton that’s a shit hole if I ever seen one

Tioga County

Erie has a really low cost of living. I know it has gone up since but my brother bought a small cottage style house around 2014 that had all new plumbing and electric recently put in for less than $80k.

I have never rented an apartment. But I think $400 is average in Williamsport. I only pay $108 a month on my mortgage.

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There are many that are cheap, but there's a reason realtors say "location, location, location".

I was in Lacey, Washington for 2 weeks in May. Never did see the sun lol.

$500/mo studio and $800/mo 1 bedroom All of Bradford County, PA. So towns like Wyalusing, Towanda, Wysox, Rome, Troy, Ulster, Milan, Athens, and Sayre. Towanda is popular because it’s the county seat. But I’d say you will have more options in Sayre and Athens because landlords are often looking to rent to doctors completing their residency at Robert Packer/Guthrie. Also close to Binghamton and Elmira.

You can rent entire homes in North Philly for less than $1,000

I would argue that high speed internet should be included in a request for cheap places to live.

I had a buddy in a small PA town who could only get satellite internet and when it snowed it didn’t work well. And it snowed often.

Moved to Fayette county this summer for the cheaper rent (in some areas) of course wages aren't as high out here either. Where I'm at is about an hour from some parts of Pittsburgh and like 20 minutes from Walmarts fast food etc. Not too bad.

I live in Erie as well and there are many places for under $1000 some are very nice too. I moved here from Mass and the cheap living is what keeps me from going back!

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Yes, the east side is not the best. It may be quiet now, but that is because it's winter. Just gotta know where to and not to roam

You have to be careful with looking for places like this. An area may be cheap, but do you really want to live there?

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Exactly. WFH would need primo internet service. If looking for employment, 40-50 minutes from a city would benefit OP. Someone mentioned Norristown area, while not the greatest area, it is closer to Philly. So, depends on job situation.

We moved to Lebanon County from the Seattle area, it’s very bright here in the winter!

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Areas of western pa in and around Mercer county and some areas in Lawrence county, butler co, and Beaver county.

DONT MOVE TO READING,OP.

This sounds like my kinda place

Anywhere that Trump flags or confederate flags outnumber American flags.

A little bit north into Beaver county as well it can be pretty cheap for some pretty decent places and still not too far from the city. How I've been surviving lol

It’s not Carlisle. I love it here. It’s very quaint, but housing prices are out of control. We were lucky to buy right before the craziness started but even before then the housing market was tight.

West pa is pretty good. I chose a very nice 2 bedroom apartment in Erie for 1000 a month. There were plenty going for 800 a month

Forest and Tioga counties should be the cheapest based on household income.

In Washington you can gk as low as $750/mo at certain apartment complexes.

I rent in Philly for $900 a month and $200 for utilities. You can find pretty much something for $1000, quality will vary

Lived in Smethport on and off for a bit when my parents lived there. It is cheap but away from basically everything except state parks.

Cheapest is probably the coal region or the very sparse areas in the northwest.

How aren’t there jobs on the city? Pottsville is a functioning city, where are the jobs? Unless are you getting at there isn’t anything beyond corporate chain store sage work/fast food jobs?

Pottsville feels romantic to me. I love walking around at night and seeing the lights of houses across the way nestled in the hills and valleys.

Lots of hourly work: Retail, restaurants, warehouses or other blue collar type jobs. Not saying you can’t make a living out there, but your pay is going to be much higher should you bite the bullet and commute to places like LV or even Reading.

I loved Smethport’s “Mansion District” because you could get a sweet house for practically nothing.

But yeah, if you don’t like hiking/geocaching/cows, it’s a rough haul. We moved when we had our son so we could be near stuff.

I hear Kane is nice in wintertime. Can even buy pizza on the cheap from crazy Pauline.

Camp Hill is not even on the same side of the river, let alone next door to H'town.

Don't move to erie no matter what you do. It's a craphole. A nick scott craphole

it's 20 minutes away, if that, is what i meant by next door

As IUP's enrollment declines, more of those student apartments will become available. Not in the best shape, tho.

Only free until you get caught. Then there's a fine and possible confiscation of camping equipment.

Lots more wacky peeps in LebCo, tho. All the crazy political ideas seem to come from the nether regions of that county.

"mobile home" always seems like such an oxymoron.

Parts of Skook are pretty nice, imho.

Folks who dump on Pottsville always seem to be the same folks who swear by Yuengling.

Unlike the LV, there are places in Skook where you won't hear your neighbors beat on each other.

There are many more opportunities for folks in central PA than fast food, Walmart or warehouses. Some of the better jobs require an education, tho. But folks here sometimes appear lazy, preferring to hire a lawnmower dude to cut the lawn. People would rather live in poverty than cut their own grass. Lawnmower dude, meanwhile, gets enough work that he can afford to make payments on a Raptor.

Ridge Pike/Ave all the way to East Falls. Plenty of stores and easy access to everywhere w/o having to get on the deathway.

And the kitchen spigot can be lit afire.

Too many rightwing wackos down there.

Does the lawnmower dude have a degree?

"I live near walmart" seems like a low bar.

Oh it's a very low bar, it's also one of the only positives I can say about an area where rent is under $1k. The town I live in in particular only has a pizza shop and a post office. Door dash and Uber don't come out this far. We only have one internet provider. I can list cons all day living 20 or so minutes from Walmart (and other stores) and the absolute peace and quiet over here are really two of the only pros besides the low rent

Well Cameron is pretty cheap and we have fast internet (fiber gigabit) in most areas. I help my Grandparents landlord a small apartment and we have a 1 bedroom we rent with all utilities and appliances (except cable, internet, ect) for $550 a month. There are other apartments in the area that are a pretty good deal as well. Only problem is you better like living in a small town. We don't have a Mall or fancy places to buy 3,000 different types of expensive shoes. in Emporium you can walk to pretty much everything for food and restaurants, but if you need something advanced you are driving or going to Amazon. We do have some of the last dark skies left in the North East though.

High school.

Can confirm, if you can stick it getting a house in the PA wilds is sometimes cheaper than rent and you end up actually owning something worth money.

Ok, so the lazy individuals in the example do not have a high school diploma.

I am not surprised! That lack of sun is what made me want to come back to PA.

It is! I love that we get more sun.

I just thought it would be better to talk about what areas in Pa are the cheapest. It is a Pa sub page after all.

I have no knowledge of Johnstown, but I feel the "I live(d) in a bad part of Philly, so this other place is tolerable" experience lol. Have to tell my husband that frequently since he hates our current place in Hanover (can't blame him tbh). Just got done telling my maintenance guy how I had a hole in my wall in Philly from rainwater damage, and also raccoons in said walls. I noped out so fast.

On that note, hoot hoot to any other Temple grads.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn’t have the only Fetterman sign on my street. The mayor of my borough is nuts, but other guys on the council seem to try to temper him when he gets too crazy. Definitely a more conservative area, but I lived in Burien WA (just south of Seattle) for five years and a friend who ran for city council had someone leave human excrement on her doorstep, call her son’s school and asked if he sat near a window, and basically harass her for existing on a daily basis. The crazies are everywhere.

I’m from this area and yeah there is nothing there. Crime is sky rocketing. It used to be such a nice safe place to live.

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I have never once heard my neighbors beat on each other down here. Granted skook’s got more rural land, so I’ll give ya that

Interesting reading on something not stated.

I would do a Zillow search cause not only can you search by price range but you will literally be able to see the location and it's surrounding area. Keep in mind the "cheaper areas" are more than likely rundown with not a lot to do, not many jobs, etc. I'd find somewhere cheaper but has potential or close to a decent city.

Read the latest issue of lebtown.com It's only starting.

You can go southern PA and find some cheap places. Maybe greencastle. Lots of jobs near by, by the mason Dixon line

Starting? Isn’t that SOP for Lebanon GOP? They operate by the mantra that “GOP makes right”.

Politics is goofy in any era. At least we still have LebTown trying to report on it.

Lol my rent is 430$ a month and believe it or not it’s a really nice place in a nice neighborhood. Just gotta find stuff on the western half of the state.

Other commenters have good points on location. It really depends on what you’re looking for in terms of housing and income. In addition to what you listed Cressona, Schuylkill Haven, Jim Thorpe, Orwigsburg, can be nice and I’m sure have options for your price point.

You should also consider your race and the political landscape in which you’ll be living. PA has sundown towns. In Hamburg for example, there are signs for at least one local white supremacy group.

Well that’s part of the charm

Well I live in the area you mentioned and yeah sure it's probably cheap but there's not shit to do here so if you like going out and doing things like idk shopping or literally any type of activity you have to drive at least an hour. Closest movie theater? Half our at least and that the shittiest movie theater I've been to. You want to go to a decent mall? Drive an hour one way. Good restaurant? Probably about an hour. The only thing this area has going for it is the trails. Lots of people drive 2+ hours to come four wheeling here. Oh and bars... Lots of bars and drugs. But that's everywhere.

It’s definitely my kind of place, I’d rather be near the trails in the woods than a Wegman’s or a Wal-Mart.

I spent the entirety of my teen years, plus a few on both ends of that, in Berwick. I didn't say what I said based on reputation, I based it on living in the hellhole.

It's free without a permit as long as you don't stay at the same campsite for more than one night.

You could probably find something in Philly. The neighborhood wouldn’t be the best, but as far as work goes, you’re close to everything.

Anyplace around (BUT NOT IN) State College. Lewistown, Centre Hall, Huntingdon, Mount Union, Etc.

Free in DCNR run forests, non? But not in gamelands.

You can rent a trailer out in Indiana county for a couple hundred a month out here if you promise not to deal drugs in it like the last tenant lol

I peeked at Zillow when I was working in Erie last year. For the same price as I pay for the mortgage on my east PA row home, I could own a 5+ bedroom with land and a view.

But like, the grass is always greener? I know folks in NYC paying twice what I am a month just to rent a 1 bedroom.