Springfield, Massachusetts Cost Of Living

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D

Overall 6%

Goods & Services 21%

Housing 18%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2019 and was released from C2ER in January, 2020; 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	Springfield	Massachusetts	National
Cost of living	106	131	100
Goods & Services	121	122	100
Groceries	107	109	100
Health care	106	121	100
Housing	82	165	100
Transportation	108	107	100
Utilities	122	114	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Springfield is 19% lower than the Massachusetts average
The cost of living in Springfield is 6% higher than the national average
Springfield housing is 18% lower 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

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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	$60,350	$5,029	$1,408	$1,811
Renters	$19,232	$1,603	$449	$577

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in Springfield, MA, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for Springfield homeowners, is $60,350. This would allow for a maximum of $1,408 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $19,232 which would result in a maximum of $449 to be spent on rental 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	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$28.20	$17.49	61.2%
Beauty Salon	$47.40	$38.17	24.2%
Toothpaste	$1.75	$2.32	24.6%
Shampoo	$0.99	$1.01	2.2%
Movie	$11.60	$10.72	8.2%
Bowling	$19.00	$13.86	37.1%

Groceries

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$3.45	$3.90	11.5%
Fried Chicken	$1.67	$1.40	19.7%
Milk	$1.97	$1.96	0.4%
Potatoes	$3.51	$3.18	10.3%
Pizza	$9.79	$10.39	5.8%
Beer	$10.19	$9.23	10.4%

Health Care

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$156.20	$106.34	46.9%
Doctor	$115.00	$115.25	0.2%
Dentist	$105.80	$98.38	7.5%
Ibuprofen	$8.89	$9.26	4.0%
Lipitor	$477.60	$466.47	2.4%

Housing

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$146,400.00	$184,700.00	20.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,431.64	$1,273.32	12.4%
Apartment Rent	$839.00	$949.00	11.6%

Transportation

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.66	$2.59	2.5%
Tire Balancing	$58.32	$48.90	19.3%

Utilities

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$238.43	$167.60	42.3%
Phone	$174.02	$163.42	6.5%

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.
Stafford Springs, CT	5,044	107	7%
Chicopee, MA	56,100	109	9%
Palmer Town, MA	12,145	109	9%
Holyoke, MA	40,280	110	10%
Thompsonville, CT	8,873	111	11%
Springfield, MA	153,991	106	6%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Macon-Bibb County, GA	153,925	90	-10%
Hayward, CA	154,507	149	49%
Pasadena, TX	153,286	89	-11%
Cary, NC	155,822	113	13%
Salinas, CA	155,889	117	17%
Springfield, MA	153,991	106	6%

Source: The Springfield, MA cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2019.

Springfield, MA Cost of Living

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