Our Pennsylvania DSCR loan page covers the statewide rules, leases and closing basics, and it runs the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metro examples. This post goes the other way: eight smaller markets side by side, scored on the same rent and price math. If Philadelphia itself is your target, read our Philadelphia rental property DSCR guide, which adds the city tax rate, the transfer tax and the city landlord rules.

Every number below was checked on November 11, 2026 against HUD User's FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Census Bureau QuickFacts, the City of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.

The Short List

Harrisburg leads on paper, Allentown has the momentum, and Pittsburgh is the safest big market with the thinnest margin.

I score these cities the way a DSCR file gets scored: what the property rents for divided by what it costs to carry. Before taxes and insurance, here is how many times the HUD three bedroom rent covers the principal and interest on a median priced house bought with 25% down at the Freddie Mac reference rate.

• Harrisburg: 3.26 times, with about $1,424 a month left for tax and insurance.
• York: 2.89 times, about $1,149 left.
• Reading: 2.83 times, about $1,128 left, even after a rent cut.
• Erie: 2.31 times, about $765 left.
• Scranton: 2.22 times, about $983 left.
• Allentown: 2.20 times, about $1,256 left, the most dollars of any higher priced city.
• Lancaster: 1.77 times, about $863 left.
• Pittsburgh: 1.70 times, about $727 left.

The ratio says who wins. The dollars left over say who survives a Pennsylvania tax bill.

Where HUD Rents Moved

Rents rose in six of these eight areas for FY2027 and fell in two, and the two that fell dropped the most HUD allows.

Allentown's three bedroom figure jumped $219, about 10.5%, the biggest gain on this list. At the other end, Reading's three bedroom figure fell from $1,937 to $1,744, and Erie's fell from $1,499 to $1,350. Both drops are almost exactly 10%, and HUD's own pages show the FY2027 number was held at a floor; the raw calculation came in lower. So if you underwrote a Reading or Erie rental last year on the HUD number, run it again.

What Homes Cost

Prices run from about $115,000 in Erie to about $220,000 in Lancaster, and renters are the majority in most of these cities.

Harrisburg is the most renter heavy city here, with only 36.6% of homes owner occupied. That usually means steady tenant demand, and it also means a lot of older row houses that need work. Keep that in mind when you read the next table, because a median value includes every house, not just the ones that rent for HUD money.

Run the DSCR on your deal

The DSCR Math by City

Every city clears principal and interest easily; the real test is how much room is left for taxes, insurance and repairs.

The setup: buy at the city's median value with 25% down on a 30 year amortization. I use Freddie Mac's 30 year fixed average of 7.18% from November 5, 2026 as a reference rate only. It is a conventional loan average, not a DSCR rate and not a rate we are quoting. Rent is HUD's FY2027 three bedroom figure.

The room column is the one I care about. It is the monthly amount your tax, insurance and any HOA can add up to before the full payment equals the rent, which is a 1.00 ratio. Pittsburgh has $727 of room; a Pittsburgh house with a $500 monthly tax bill and a $150 insurance bill still clears 1.00, but barely.

Taxes Decide the Winner

In Pennsylvania you cannot score a city without the parcel's tax bill, because the bill stacks county, municipal and school district millage on an assessed value that may be years old.

Pittsburgh shows why. The City of Pittsburgh's own millage rate is 9.67, according to the city's property tax worksheet last updated January 28, 2026, and Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh Public Schools levy their own millage on top of it. The city's millage applies to the county assessed value, not to the price you pay, so two houses at the same price can carry very different bills. Pull the actual bill from the county assessment record before you trust any ratio.

Pennsylvania also charges a realty transfer tax when you buy. The Department of Revenue sets the state share at 1 percent of the value, and it is often collected along with an additional local transfer tax by the county Recorder of Deeds. That money comes out of your cash to close, not your monthly payment, so it does not move the DSCR. It does change how much cash a $120,000 Harrisburg house really takes versus a $206,000 Allentown house.

Two, Three or Four Bedrooms

Three and four bedroom houses carry these deals; two bedrooms work in the low priced cities and get thin in Pittsburgh and Lancaster.

At the HUD two bedroom figure, the rent covers principal and interest about 1.33 times in Pittsburgh ($1,389 rent) and 1.39 times in Lancaster ($1,553), which leaves only a few hundred dollars for tax and insurance. In Harrisburg the two bedroom figure of $1,598 still covers principal and interest 2.53 times. Our DSCR floor is 0.50, so a thin two bedroom can still be financed, but if you want the house to pay for itself on paper, the extra bedroom matters most in the higher priced cities.

Loan Terms That Help

Low Pennsylvania prices mean small loans, so the reserve rule and gifts usually matter more than the rate.

• No reserves are required when the loan is under $1 million and the LTV is under 75%, and there is no asset sourcing, large deposit sourcing or seasoning.
• Gifts: a 100% gift can cover the down payment, the closing costs and the reserves, which helps with the transfer tax.
• Interest only comes as ten years on a 40 year term or a 30 year term with interest only, up to 70% LTV on a purchase.
• Cash out goes up to 80% LTV with no ownership seasoning, a fit for a Reading or York row house you fix up.
• New investors do not need to own a home or show a VOR. Ratios go as low as 0.50 and loans go up to $5 million.

For how this year's HUD changes played out in other states, read our HUD Fair Market Rents 2027 breakdown, and for the classic rule of thumb, see the 1% rule vs DSCR. Our loan programs page lists everything else we place.

Where the Numbers Lie

They lie when a cheap median hides a house that needs a roof, or a rent figure your street will never see.

My Pennsylvania Shortlist Steps

1. Pick two cities from the table that fit your budget.
2. Pull the tax bill for each parcel from the county assessment office, including the school district.
3. Pull three bedroom comps for the street, then compare them with the HUD figure.
4. Check the city's rental registration or inspection rules before you set a move in date.
5. Price the transfer tax into your cash to close.
6. Send us the address. We run the DSCR the way the lender will, with the full payment.

Sources

All sources checked November 11, 2026. Data changes, so confirm before you rely on it.

1. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Lehigh County, PA (Allentown Bethlehem Easton HUD Metro FMR Area). 2 bed $1,839, 3 bed $2,306, 4 bed $2,482 (FY2026 3 bed $2,087); area is Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties
2. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Dauphin County, PA (Harrisburg Carlisle MSA). 2 bed $1,598, 3 bed $2,055 (FY2026 $1,920)
3. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Allegheny County, PA (Pittsburgh HUD Metro FMR Area). 2 bed $1,389, 3 bed $1,773, 4 bed $1,925 (FY2026 3 bed $1,661)
4. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Lancaster, Lackawanna, York, Berks and Erie counties, PA. 3 bed FY2027 (FY2026): Lancaster $1,978 ($1,980), Scranton Wilkes Barre $1,786 ($1,631), York Hanover $1,757 ($1,796), Reading $1,744 ($1,937), Erie $1,350 ($1,499); Reading and Erie FY2027 values held at HUD's floor; Lancaster 2 bed $1,553
5. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie, Reading and Harrisburg cities. Median value of owner occupied housing units, owner occupied rate and median gross rent, ACS 2020 to 2024; population estimates July 1, 2025 (V2025)
6. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Lancaster and York cities. Lancaster $219,500, 48.6%, $1,240, 58,366; York $119,700, 43.7%, $1,014, 45,342
7. City of Pittsburgh, Property Tax Worksheet. City millage rate 9.67; county and school district set their own rates; page last updated January 28, 2026
8. Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, Realty Transfer Tax. State realty transfer tax 1 percent of the value; often collected with an additional local realty transfer tax by county Recorders of Deeds
9. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. 30 year fixed average 7.18% as of November 5, 2026 (reference only)

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