Cost of Living in Malvern
Malvern pairs genuinely elevated housing costs with a comparatively moderate combined local tax burden, courtesy of Chester County's own favorable effective property tax rate.
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Learn moreGenuinely elevated housing costs
Zillow's average home value ran $797,612 (2026, +2.7% YoY); a separately-cited Movoto median sold price reached $829,000 (May 2026) -- both genuinely high, among the highest documented in this project's Pennsylvania Tier B coverage.
Chester County's comparatively favorable effective property tax rate
Malvern shares Chester County's own real property-tax picture, already documented precisely in this project's companion west-chester-pa.js record: a comparatively favorable effective rate of approximately 1.05%, below the Pennsylvania statewide average.
A real, moderate combined 1% local EIT
Malvern Borough levies a real, current 1% Earned Income Tax on both resident and non-resident individuals' earned income, collected by Keystone Collections Group -- layered on Pennsylvania's flat 3.07% state rate for a combined approximate marginal rate of ~4.07%.
A genuinely affluent local income profile
Malvern's median household income ran $117,548, with a low 4.51% poverty rate -- reflecting the borough's genuine Route 202-corridor and Main Line-adjacent affluence.
Key takeaways
- Housing runs genuinely elevated ($797,612-$829,000 depending on source).
- Chester County's comparatively favorable ~1.05% effective property tax rate applies.
- A moderate combined 1% local EIT plus PA's flat 3.07% state rate produces a ~4.07% combined approximate marginal rate.
- Malvern's median household income ($117,548) reflects genuine local affluence.
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