Cost of Living in Massachusetts

233 cities | Population: 4,993,470

129

Average Cost of Living Index (US = 100)

Median Income: $105,630

Cost of Living in Massachusetts: Overview

Massachusetts has a cost of living index of 129, making it 29% more expensive than the national average. The statewide median household income is $105,630 (41% above the US median of $75,149). Across 233 cities tracked in Massachusetts, costs vary widely depending on location, proximity to metro areas, and local housing markets.

Housing drives most of the variation. The average median rent across Massachusetts cities is $1,582/mo (20% above the national median of $1,319), and the average median home value is $550,365 (81% above the national figure of $304,900). There is a 178-point spread between the most affordable city, North Adams (index 71), and the most expensive, Wellesley (index 249) — an enormous range that reflects dramatic differences in housing markets within the state.

While Massachusetts is expensive, the higher median income partially offsets these costs. Prospective residents should evaluate specific cities, since some areas within the state are significantly more affordable than others.

The largest cities in Massachusetts by population are Boston (index 160, pop. 663,972), Worcester (index 107, pop. 205,501), Springfield (index 86, pop. 154,751), Cambridge (index 207, pop. 117,794), and Lowell (index 120, pop. 114,799). Cost of living varies considerably even among these major population centers, highlighting the importance of comparing individual cities rather than relying on the state average alone.

Data: US Census Bureau (ACS 2023), Zillow, HUD, BEA Regional Price Parities. Updated monthly.

Cost of Living Map

Top 200 cities by population. Click a marker for details.

Most Expensive in Massachusetts

1. Wellesley (29,906) 249 2. Brookline (62,822) 225 3. Nantucket (10,837) 224 4. Lexington (34,085) 218 5. Newton (88,504) 210 6. Cambridge (117,794) 207 7. Needham (32,059) 206 8. Winchester (22,862) 204 9. Belmont (27,009) 202 10. Somerville (80,549) 187

Cheapest in Massachusetts

1. North Adams (12,660) 71 2. Adams (5,584) 76 3. Pittsfield (43,559) 85 4. Athol (8,711) 86 5. Holyoke (37,949) 86 6. Springfield (154,751) 86 7. Ware (5,723) 87 8. Palmer Town (12,372) 87 9. Chicopee (55,213) 89 10. Gardner (21,075) 91

Best Places to Live in Massachusetts (2026)

Our data-driven guide ranking the top 15 cities by affordability, income, housing, and climate.

All Cities in Massachusetts (233)

City	Population	Cost Index	Median Income	Median Rent	Home Value
Boston	663,972	160	$94,755	$2,093/mo	$710,400
Worcester	205,501	107	$67,544	$1,415/mo	$339,500
Springfield	154,751	86	$51,339	$1,114/mo	$222,700
Cambridge	117,794	207	$126,469	$2,742/mo	$1,040,500
Lowell	114,799	120	$76,205	$1,603/mo	$395,100
Brockton	105,080	119	$77,089	$1,545/mo	$405,500
Quincy	101,361	148	$95,711	$1,998/mo	$598,100
Lynn	100,905	126	$74,715	$1,612/mo	$472,600
New Bedford	100,731	95	$56,025	$1,085/mo	$324,400
Fall River	93,764	98	$53,933	$1,086/mo	$357,800
Newton	88,504	210	$184,989	$2,388/mo	$1,202,500
Lawrence	88,297	118	$57,903	$1,569/mo	$393,500
Somerville	80,549	187	$127,056	$2,468/mo	$899,400
Framingham	72,013	144	$98,179	$1,853/mo	$600,600
Haverhill	67,387	123	$87,675	$1,620/mo	$426,900
Malden	65,509	151	$95,298	$2,066/mo	$607,500
Waltham	64,723	164	$116,560	$2,232/mo	$705,700
Brookline	62,822	225	$140,631	$2,804/mo	$1,233,100
Revere	59,933	145	$81,121	$1,966/mo	$566,200
Taunton	59,719	106	$79,715	$1,269/mo	$388,200
Medford	59,062	172	$118,089	$2,477/mo	$715,500
Weymouth Town	57,786	137	$100,077	$1,861/mo	$516,200
Chicopee	55,213	89	$66,927	$1,108/mo	$251,800
Peabody	54,180	143	$95,278	$1,902/mo	$566,200
Methuen Town	53,043	126	$103,270	$1,610/mo	$472,200
Everett	49,236	149	$79,658	$1,988/mo	$605,200
Barnstable Town	49,232	136	$97,348	$1,751/mo	$559,200
Attleboro	46,499	113	$93,266	$1,446/mo	$409,100
Arlington	46,015	173	$141,440	$2,043/mo	$885,000
Salem	44,241	134	$85,137	$1,800/mo	$497,400
Leominster	43,697	103	$81,556	$1,282/mo	$345,000
Pittsfield	43,559	85	$68,386	$1,094/mo	$233,700
Beverly	42,408	141	$103,739	$1,683/mo	$621,900
Fitchburg	41,633	95	$70,659	$1,131/mo	$295,500
Marlborough	41,398	131	$95,047	$1,721/mo	$485,400
Woburn	41,205	158	$107,754	$2,190/mo	$641,800
Westfield	40,673	91	$82,847	$1,064/mo	$295,500
Chelsea	39,460	134	$72,220	$1,859/mo	$476,500
Braintree Town	38,762	148	$125,305	$1,925/mo	$623,200
Holyoke	37,949	86	$51,892	$1,016/mo	$255,300
Amherst Town	35,472	121	$65,938	$1,570/mo	$454,000
Watertown Town	35,270	171	$123,422	$2,357/mo	$737,600
Randolph Town	34,683	139	$103,129	$2,049/mo	$463,500
Lexington	34,085	218	$219,402	$2,816/mo	$1,147,900
Franklin Town	33,067	141	$142,788	$1,856/mo	$567,100
Needham	32,059	206	$212,241	$2,412/mo	$1,146,000
Norwood	31,380	151	$97,110	$2,056/mo	$613,500
North Attleborough Town	30,842	116	$109,426	$1,402/mo	$462,700
Wellesley	29,906	249	$250,001	$2,849/mo	$1,513,400
Gloucester	29,862	129	$87,898	$1,395/mo	$587,800
Melrose	29,488	163	$126,854	$1,933/mo	$796,100
Bridgewater Town	28,669	140	$112,482	$1,976/mo	$500,600
Northampton	28,640	111	$78,467	$1,404/mo	$398,000
West Springfield Town	28,635	94	$70,401	$1,121/mo	$307,900
Saugus	28,599	147	$100,819	$1,982/mo	$589,500
Agawam Town	28,510	96	$82,359	$1,234/mo	$290,000
Milton	28,481	158	$178,053	$1,503/mo	$896,500
Danvers	27,924	150	$117,072	$2,004/mo	$611,200
Milford	27,919	123	$88,992	$1,702/mo	$429,800
Wakefield	27,284	150	$130,320	$1,872/mo	$670,100
Belmont	27,009	202	$178,188	$2,387/mo	$1,108,800
Burlington	26,223	173	$142,207	$2,597/mo	$679,400
Reading	25,448	152	$163,725	$1,722/mo	$741,100
Dedham	25,109	153	$124,375	$2,058/mo	$630,400
Wilmington	23,195	165	$161,473	$2,412/mo	$646,200
Stoneham	22,986	147	$112,635	$1,878/mo	$629,000
Winchester	22,862	204	$218,176	$2,271/mo	$1,181,700
Gardner	21,075	91	$62,948	$1,071/mo	$271,300
Marblehead	20,334	167	$165,859	$1,769/mo	$906,200
Winthrop Town	18,807	146	$106,357	$1,909/mo	$606,900
Newburyport	18,444	149	$144,259	$1,511/mo	$792,400
Somerset	18,246	107	$111,720	$1,313/mo	$389,400
Southbridge Town	17,806	93	$59,397	$1,157/mo	$267,000
Greenfield	17,662	91	$53,961	$1,097/mo	$252,000
Amesbury Town	17,277	125	$100,599	$1,573/mo	$475,400
Abington	17,008	128	$119,787	$1,547/mo	$516,300
Easthampton Town	16,103	100	$72,925	$1,192/mo	$343,800
Longmeadow	15,724	119	$144,639	$1,650/mo	$425,800
Hudson	15,610	119	$96,149	$1,417/mo	$457,400
Swampscott	15,209	163	$128,964	$2,223/mo	$690,800
Lynnfield	12,964	184	$172,484	$2,333/mo	$904,200
North Adams	12,660	71	$48,521	$777/mo	$185,300
Palmer Town	12,372	87	$78,789	$1,041/mo	$255,000
Webster	12,300	95	$60,384	$1,112/mo	$303,900
South Yarmouth	11,642	126	$79,638	$1,665/mo	$465,100
Holbrook	11,320	121	$107,768	$1,522/mo	$436,500
Nantucket	10,837	224	$109,988	$2,484/mo	$1,359,200
Maynard	10,663	130	$119,549	$1,678/mo	$494,200
Hull	10,098	146	$127,112	$1,885/mo	$606,100
Andover	9,261	141	$127,054	$1,422/mo	$719,900
Athol	8,711	86	$61,742	$1,018/mo	$227,000
Middleborough Center	8,064	121	$79,520	$1,705/mo	$372,400
Plymouth	7,852	125	$72,639	$1,701/mo	$426,000
Whitinsville	7,250	111	$93,504	$1,271/mo	$440,100
Mansfield Center	7,232	121	$101,546	$1,601/mo	$449,200
Clinton	6,908	105	$78,909	$1,386/mo	$328,600
Pinehurst	6,737	140	$136,406	$1,759/mo	$585,600
Northborough	6,720	118	$154,926	$1,219/mo	$553,700
Cochituate	6,688	161	$190,938	$1,705/mo	$862,000
East Falmouth	6,415	140	$69,121	$1,884/mo	$554,200
Kingston	6,373	121	$130,179	$1,298/mo	$529,400
Foxborough	6,356	130	$83,162	$1,591/mo	$523,200
Medfield	6,355	149	$186,625	$1,667/mo	$734,200
West Yarmouth	6,323	121	$63,859	$1,514/mo	$456,800
North Scituate	6,163	151	$136,852	$1,613/mo	$771,000
Sharon	6,022	164	$183,239	$2,469/mo	$614,300
West Concord	5,997	185	$178,979	$2,444/mo	$881,800
Walpole	5,989	145	$132,411	$1,952/mo	$572,000
Yarmouth Port	5,825	131	$108,563	$1,636/mo	$542,600
Salisbury	5,735	128	$93,052	$1,737/mo	$441,500
Ware	5,723	87	$52,039	$1,046/mo	$229,700
East Harwich	5,670	152	$108,157	$2,213/mo	$585,400
Bliss Corner	5,666	107	$73,919	$1,186/mo	$430,700
Scituate	5,602	121	$126,379	$811/mo	$699,200
Adams	5,584	76	$48,750	$909/mo	$189,100
Oxford	5,572	95	$91,742	$1,047/mo	$327,300
Spencer	5,520	92	$59,618	$1,052/mo	$297,700
Hingham	5,343	171	$222,696	$1,066/mo	$1,216,800
North Westport	4,995	98	$85,120	$999/mo	$389,300
The Pinehills	4,988	175	$121,792	$2,689/mo	$669,100
Bellingham	4,939	131	$88,731	$1,995/mo	$385,300
Raynham Center	4,871	130	$120,913	$1,738/mo	$510,800
Ipswich	4,806	130	$92,969	$1,456/mo	$570,500
Rockport	4,795	152	$86,250	$1,848/mo	$694,300
Marshfield	4,698	134	$99,537	$1,398/mo	$646,400
Ocean Bluff-Brant Rock	4,695	120	$118,625	$1,383/mo	$483,600
Millis-Clicquot	4,479	132	$116,324	$1,744/mo	$487,700
Smith Mills	4,467	85	$56,250	$599/mo	$384,600
North Plymouth	4,458	130	$71,205	$1,787/mo	$456,600
Winchendon	4,407	94	$67,188	$1,217/mo	$258,300
Williamstown	4,352	106	$82,917	$1,244/mo	$436,900
Wilbraham	4,247	99	$88,409	$1,148/mo	$361,600
Westborough	4,234	126	$100,037	$1,503/mo	$540,600
Northwest Harwich	4,205	192	$89,063	$3,501/mo	$596,800
Hopedale	4,126	125	$111,016	$1,844/mo	$399,100
Falmouth	3,996	134	$68,267	$1,175/mo	$745,900
Sagamore	3,958	137	$132,000	$1,752/mo	$562,600
Turners Falls	3,949	91	$56,729	$1,133/mo	$235,500
North Pembroke	3,924	161	$177,703	$2,620/mo	$521,400
Orange	3,793	85	$53,014	$991/mo	$217,200
Forestdale	3,716	129	$105,368	$1,790/mo	$462,500
East Dennis	3,685	113	$100,504	$721/mo	$658,500
North Lakeville	3,602	135	$88,750	$1,858/mo	$488,400
East Sandwich	3,597	138	$128,750	$1,556/mo	$651,900
Provincetown	3,466	142	$123,456	$1,331/mo	$786,900
Dennis Port	3,439	120	$61,974	$1,524/mo	$450,500
Nahant	3,328	149	$111,004	$1,790/mo	$686,000
South Duxbury	3,272	186	$206,111	$2,181/mo	$987,500
South Dennis	3,190	121	$86,500	$1,542/mo	$454,400
Hopkinton	3,142	120	$173,750	$1,053/mo	$601,900
Ocean Grove	3,099	102	$97,109	$1,278/mo	$337,800
Cordaville	3,076	136	$161,023	—	$730,600
Monument Beach	3,067	134	$86,953	$1,723/mo	$540,600
Ayer	3,012	110	$81,286	$1,228/mo	$417,300
Upton	2,985	115	$109,925	—	$474,600
Sandwich	2,976	132	$108,583	$1,729/mo	$511,000
Buzzards Bay	2,941	119	$95,847	$1,465/mo	$453,500
North Seekonk	2,903	108	$110,541	$1,254/mo	$417,300
East Douglas	2,842	107	$141,042	$1,249/mo	$400,900
Littleton Common	2,838	133	$129,347	$1,604/mo	$551,800
Acushnet Center	2,792	90	$69,159	$935/mo	$313,100
West Wareham	2,776	95	$55,900	—	$204,200
Wareham Center	2,737	109	$88,424	$1,207/mo	$411,500
Vineyard Haven	2,672	146	$73,917	$1,379/mo	$815,000
West Dennis	2,586	134	$93,958	$1,620/mo	$580,900
Topsfield	2,573	130	$169,468	$866/mo	$793,300
Mattapoisett Center	2,573	144	$99,864	$1,708/mo	$649,200
Fiskdale	2,564	98	$92,273	$1,071/mo	$359,200
North Falmouth	2,558	131	$133,571	—	$656,400
Norton Center	2,526	110	$114,051	—	$418,400
North Brookfield	2,477	85	$75,956	$982/mo	$235,000
Baldwinville	2,454	83	$56,957	$792/mo	$284,900
Dover	2,386	180	$250,001	—	$1,230,600
Pocasset	2,375	107	$84,544	$671/mo	$607,700
Boxford	2,325	159	$238,375	—	$977,400
Belchertown	2,299	91	$68,393	$913/mo	$331,500
Cedar Crest	2,289	128	$175,313	—	$606,500
Sturbridge	2,277	120	$129,413	$1,682/mo	$404,700
Lunenburg	2,163	112	$112,422	—	$439,600
Marshfield Hills	2,121	140	$210,096	—	$750,600
Harwich Port	2,011	127	$64,813	$1,174/mo	$654,900
Hanson	2,002	119	$115,109	—	$490,700
South Lancaster	1,991	106	$104,745	—	$370,200
East Pepperell	1,984	122	$111,736	$1,612/mo	$415,200
North Eastham	1,958	140	$80,375	$1,653/mo	$641,200
Great Barrington	1,953	105	$57,071	$1,142/mo	$459,000
Dennis	1,903	153	$127,292	$1,542/mo	$835,300
Pepperell	1,887	105	$76,196	$1,117/mo	$399,700
White Island Shores	1,880	120	$104,940	$1,694/mo	$366,800
Devens	1,871	123	$113,125	$1,628/mo	$464,000
South Deerfield	1,822	112	$97,250	$1,333/mo	$419,100
Lenox	1,809	96	$58,920	$987/mo	$411,700
Rutland	1,796	100	$102,885	$1,134/mo	$357,700
Monson Center	1,794	81	$58,603	$770/mo	$279,500
Essex	1,775	155	$156,094	$1,750/mo	$774,400
Bourne	1,765	120	$125,366	—	$521,100
Shelburne Falls	1,755	94	$52,604	$1,069/mo	$296,000
Hanscom AFB	1,745	170	$101,194	$3,501/mo	—
Teaticket	1,728	156	$85,669	$2,604/mo	$488,700
Brewster	1,711	135	$75,481	$1,316/mo	$702,000
West Falmouth	1,655	151	$115,735	$1,756/mo	$734,000
Harwich Center	1,620	123	$76,944	$1,355/mo	$546,600
Duxbury	1,620	192	$126,750	—	$1,386,200
Orleans	1,618	111	$76,768	$960/mo	$542,500
Chatham	1,614	192	$82,269	$924/mo	$1,550,000
Rowley	1,576	122	$106,250	$1,100/mo	$615,500
Lee	1,522	95	$70,306	—	$265,900
West Brookfield	1,518	92	$59,734	$1,081/mo	$282,900
Hatfield	1,361	99	$109,625	$846/mo	$460,300
Oak Bluffs	1,357	160	$59,082	—	$1,013,900
East Brookfield	1,349	94	$70,625	$990/mo	$337,500
West Chatham	1,337	138	$135,199	—	$743,100
Holland	1,313	97	$83,382	—	$281,000
Green Harbor	1,254	146	$195,930	—	$825,600
South Ashburnham	1,174	103	$82,006	—	$323,400
Marion Center	1,159	162	$180,130	$2,368/mo	$622,600
Granby	1,127	101	$126,136	—	$299,700
Townsend	1,082	96	$56,726	$947/mo	$344,400
Millers Falls	1,081	95	$63,646	$1,291/mo	$222,600
Mashpee Neck	1,071	125	$131,250	—	$578,400
Housatonic	1,054	106	$86,920	$1,259/mo	$429,200
Woods Hole	999	145	$72,386	$1,180/mo	$876,700
Brookfield	940	96	$66,774	$1,087/mo	$325,700
Northfield	908	93	$74,875	$1,071/mo	$279,300
Huntington	853	100	$52,344	$1,286/mo	$301,800
New Seabury	824	150	$206,000	—	$883,500
Warren	705	101	$40,315	—	—
Chester	692	84	$86,042	$1,095/mo	$203,300
Russell	568	84	$103,456	$881/mo	$280,000
Barre	550	120	$55,625	$1,906/mo	$313,100
Blandford	437	93	$93,500	—	$224,600
Madaket	378	178	$106,615	—	$1,226,600
Petersham	252	114	$105,938	$1,550/mo	$372,400