Springfield, Massachusetts Cost Of Living

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D+

Overall 3%

Goods & Services 14%

Housing 18%

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	103	130	100
Goods & Services	114	117	100
Groceries	105	119	100
Health care	108	118	100
Housing	82	165	100
Transportation	104	111	100
Utilities	127	111	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Springfield is 21% lower than the Massachusetts average
The cost of living in Springfield is 3% 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	$31.40	$20.27	54.9%
Beauty Salon	$42.60	$40.39	5.5%
Toothpaste	$2.93	$2.36	24.2%
Shampoo	$0.98	$1.08	8.6%
Movie	$9.59	$10.99	12.7%
Bowling	$19.00	$15.49	22.7%

Groceries

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.97	$4.30	15.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.51	$1.40	7.7%
Milk	$3.42	$2.20	55.4%
Potatoes	$3.83	$3.22	19.1%
Pizza	$9.26	$10.74	13.8%
Beer	$9.30	$9.60	3.1%

Health Care

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$155.00	$109.73	41.3%
Doctor	$117.00	$118.34	1.1%
Dentist	$107.00	$100.94	6.0%
Ibuprofen	$9.39	$9.93	5.4%
Lipitor	$520.95	$469.53	11.0%

Housing

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$146,400.00	$184,700.00	20.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,114.85	$1,229.62	9.3%
Apartment Rent	$839.00	$949.00	11.6%

Transportation

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.66	$2.71	1.7%
Tire Balancing	$59.40	$51.86	14.5%

Utilities

Item	Springfield	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$255.89	$170.84	49.8%
Phone	$182.20	$187.18	2.7%

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.
Stafford Springs, CT	5,044	105	5.1%
Chicopee, MA	56,100	106	6.4%
Palmer Town, MA	12,145	106	6.4%
Holyoke, MA	40,280	107	7.1%
Thompsonville, CT	8,873	108	8.1%
Springfield, MA	153,991	103	3.2%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Macon-Bibb County, GA	153,925	87	12.9%
Hayward, CA	154,507	147	47.4%
Pasadena, TX	153,286	90	10.3%
Cary, NC	155,822	111	11.4%
Salinas, CA	155,889	124	24.4%
Springfield, MA	153,991	103	3.2%

Source: This data reflects 2021 and was released from C2ER in January, 2022; this is the most current data available.