Massachusetts cost of living
Prices in Massachusetts run at 105.8 against a national average of 100, which makes it the 7th most expensive of the 51 jurisdictions. Housing is the part that separates states: rents there sit at 128.1.
Where the difference actually is
Prices in Massachusetts run at 105.8 where the national average is 100, so about 5.8 per cent above the country as a whole. It ranks #7 of 51 states.
Housing is doing nearly all of the work. Rents sit at 128.1 while goods sit at 98.8, a gap of 22.3 points between what it costs to live somewhere and what it costs to buy things. Goods barely vary across the country because most are shipped and priced nationally, so a place is expensive almost entirely to the extent its housing is.
A salary offer here is worth less than the same offer somewhere at 100, and the parity is the arithmetic that says by how much. Divide the offer by 105.8 and multiply by 100 to get the nationally comparable figure.
The vertical line is the national average of 100. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, SARPP, 2024.
What it costs, in actual money
Parities are ratios. These are the figures behind them for Massachusetts, drawn from the other datasets on this site.
| Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
| Median home value | $525,800 |
| Median gross rent | $1,687 a month |
| Median household income | $101,341 |
| Average electricity bill | $183 a month |
| Effective property tax | 1.11% |
Everything about Massachusetts Property tax by county Salaries
Metro areas in Massachusetts
Within a state, cities and rural areas diverge sharply. A statewide parity averages over that.
| Metro area | All items | Goods | Rents | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 108.3 | 99.7 | 148.4 | #19 |
| Worcester | 102.5 | 97.0 | 113.0 | #52 |
| Providence-Warwick | 101.8 | 97.1 | 103.9 | #59 |
| Amherst Town-Northampton | 100.2 | 97.0 | 97.5 | #84 |
| Barnstable Town | 98.4 | 97.0 | 90.0 | #103 |
| Springfield | 96.1 | 97.0 | 75.8 | #144 |
| Pittsfield | 95.1 | 97.0 | 73.5 | #166 |
Massachusetts cost of living: common questions
Is Massachusetts expensive to live in?
Prices overall are 5.8% above the national average, at a parity of 105.8 where 100 is the country as a whole. It ranks #7 of 51. Goods run at 98.8, rents at 128.1 and other services at 152.1.
What is a salary in Massachusetts really worth?
The median wage there is $62,270. Adjusted for local prices that buys what $58,856 buys nationally. A state that pays well and costs more can leave a household no better off, and this is the arithmetic that shows it.
What is a regional price parity?
An official measure from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of what a dollar buys in one place against the national average, set at 100. It is built from the same price collection that underlies the consumer price index, extended to compare places rather than time periods. It is the only government measure of cost of living differences between states.
Why is housing treated separately?
Because it carries most of the difference. In Massachusetts rents sit 22.3 points above the state's overall parity. Goods barely vary between states, since most of them are shipped nationally; services vary more; housing varies enormously. Any cost of living comparison that does not separate housing is mostly measuring housing anyway.