Belmont, Massachusetts Cost Of Living

F

82%

Overall NAT. AVG.

26%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

224%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Belmont	Massachusetts	National
Cost of living	182	130	100
Goods & Services	126	117	100
Groceries	118	119	100
Health care	117	118	100
Housing	324	165	100
Transportation	109	111	100
Utilities	126	111	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Belmont is 40% higher than the Massachusetts average
The cost of living in Belmont is 82% higher than the national average
Belmont housing is 224% higher than the national average
Massachusetts general sales tax is 22% higher than the national average
Massachusetts state income tax is 122% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$152,593	$12,716	$3,560	$4,578
Renters	$70,385	$5,865	$1,642	$2,112

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Belmont is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Belmont has a median income of about $152,593 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $3,560 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $70,385. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $1,642 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

Massachusetts Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Massachusetts	6.25%	6.25%

Massachusetts Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Massachusetts	5%	5%

Goods & Services

Item	Belmont	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$42.05	$20.27	107.4%
Beauty Salon	$64.22	$40.39	59.0%
Toothpaste	$2.33	$2.36	1.4%
Shampoo	$1.12	$1.08	3.7%
Movie	$14.64	$10.99	33.2%
Bowling	$20.13	$15.49	30.0%

Groceries

Item	Belmont	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.32	$4.30	0.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.92	$1.40	37.0%
Milk	$3.07	$2.20	39.4%
Potatoes	$3.91	$3.22	21.4%
Pizza	$11.76	$10.74	9.5%
Beer	$10.14	$9.60	5.6%

Health Care

Item	Belmont	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$102.75	$109.73	6.4%
Doctor	$194.00	$118.34	63.9%
Dentist	$108.00	$100.94	7.0%
Ibuprofen	$9.96	$9.93	0.3%
Lipitor	$464.43	$469.53	1.1%

Housing

Item	Belmont	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$711,200.00	$184,700.00	285.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,534.71	$1,229.62	106.1%
Apartment Rent	$1,710.00	$949.00	80.2%

Transportation

Item	Belmont	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.70	$2.71	0.2%
Tire Balancing	$64.81	$51.86	25.0%

Utilities

Item	Belmont	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$252.06	$170.84	47.5%
Phone	$184.49	$187.18	1.4%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Lynn, MA	92,074	125	25.0%
Chelsea, MA	38,244	128	28.2%
Salem, MA	42,804	132	31.6%
Littleton Common, MA	3,002	132	31.7%
Maynard, MA	10,526	133	32.8%
Belmont, MA	25,555	182	82.1%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Owatonna, MN	25,580	91	8.6%
Hazelwood, MO	25,604	91	9.4%
Alvin, TX	25,500	90	9.5%
Soledad, CA	25,616	118	18.4%
Burlington, IA	25,492	82	17.5%
Belmont, MA	25,555	182	82.1%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2022 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.