Boston, Massachusetts Cost Of Living

Buy Rent

F

Overall 46%

Goods & Services 27%

Housing 104%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2020 and was released from C2ER in January, 2021; 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	Boston	Massachusetts	National
Cost of living	146	131	100
Goods & Services	127	121	100
Groceries	113	110	100
Health care	121	123	100
Housing	204	165	100
Transportation	109	108	100
Utilities	122	115	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Boston is 11% higher than the Massachusetts average
The cost of living in Boston is 46% higher than the national average
Boston housing is 104% higher than the national average
Massachusetts general sales tax is 23% higher than the national average
Massachusetts state income tax is 103% higher than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around Boston

See all the best places to live around Boston

Compare Boston, MA Cost of Living

See all Boston poll results

The best places in Massachusetts

Here are the best places to live in Massachusetts

These are the 10 most affordable cities in Massachusetts

Check out the 10 safest cities in Massachusetts

See the best places to live in & around Boston

Salary Calculator

This is how much you would need to earn in

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	$100,584	$8,382	$2,347	$3,018
Renters	$40,766	$3,397	$951	$1,223

The affordability of the housing market in Boston, MA as well as the overall cost of living can be predicted by what percent of the monthly income is spent on housing related costs. This is konwn as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The overall rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of your gross income should be spent on the overall costs related to housing and no more than 36% of gross income on all expenses and debts. Among Boston homeowners, the median income is $100,584. This indicates that a monthly maximum of $2,347 should be spent by homeowners on all housing related costs. Renters have a median income of $40,766. This indicates that renters would have a maximum of $951 for their rent related monthly costs.

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	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$34.97	$18.62	87.8%
Beauty Salon	$64.17	$39.05	64.3%
Toothpaste	$2.30	$2.34	1.6%
Shampoo	$1.00	$1.06	5.7%
Movie	$14.43	$10.68	35.1%
Bowling	$21.00	$14.67	43.1%

Groceries

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.74	$4.22	11.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.64	$1.39	18.6%
Milk	$2.27	$2.05	10.9%
Potatoes	$4.02	$3.29	22.3%
Pizza	$11.16	$10.62	5.0%
Beer	$9.29	$9.38	1.0%

Health Care

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$102.75	$108.57	5.4%
Doctor	$194.00	$116.17	67.0%
Dentist	$108.27	$99.13	9.2%
Ibuprofen	$9.73	$9.68	0.6%
Lipitor	$464.43	$466.92	0.5%

Housing

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$423,200.00	$184,700.00	129.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,463.17	$1,197.42	105.7%
Apartment Rent	$1,369.00	$949.00	44.3%

Transportation

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.19	$2.22	1.4%
Tire Balancing	$64.47	$50.07	28.8%

Utilities

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$233.87	$167.67	39.5%
Phone	$181.11	$175.64	3.1%

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, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Southfield, MA	0	121	21%
Lynn, MA	92,074	125	25%
Randolph, MA	33,526	128	28%
Chelsea, MA	38,244	128	28%
Salem, MA	42,804	131	31%
Boston, MA	658,279	146	46%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Washington, DC	659,009	151	51%
Memphis, TN	655,857	81	-19%
Denver, CO	663,303	116	16%
Seattle, WA	668,849	156	56%
Nashville, TN	643,771	96	-4%
Boston, MA	658,279	146	46%

Source: The Boston, MA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2020.