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Cost of Living Comparison for Cambridge, MA
Local data pre-filled
Cambridge's cost of living index is 178 — 78% more expensive than the national average. This factors in housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare. Use this calculator to see how your purchasing power would change if you moved to another city.
✓ Calculator below is pre-filled with Cambridge local data
Data as of · Sources: Zillow, Census ACS, Tax Foundation, Freddie Mac
Massachusetts Financial Snapshot (2026) — Cost of Living Comparison
Cost-of-living index and median income anchor the budget math for the cost of living comparison in Massachusetts.
How the Cost of Living Comparison Math Works Under Massachusetts Law
Your cost of living comparison in Massachusetts is driven by the BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) — a purchasing-power index where US = 100. The all-items RPP tells you how far a dollar goes statewide vs the national average; housing-only RPP isolates the rent/mortgage side, which is the single biggest budget line for most households[1].
When the all-items RPP is above 100, the same expense basket costs more to maintain in Massachusetts. The 50/30/20 rule (needs/wants/savings) bends toward needs in high-RPP states and toward savings in low-RPP states.
Calc-specific note: COL index normalises everything to US = 100. Housing RPP + all-items RPP are the two dimensions that move together.
Worked example — Massachusetts
Massachusetts's BEA all-items RPP measures how far a dollar goes vs US = 100. $100 of mainstream-basket spending in Massachusetts costs $(RPP) in the US average. Housing RPP is usually the biggest swing component — run the housing tile separately when comparing metros.
Local context: Cambridge, MA
Housing economics in Cambridge, MA. The median home value runs 158.4% above the U.S. baseline for Cambridge, MA is $925,000 per Zillow's home-value index. Median rent runs $3,100 a month per Zillow ZORI, a premium over the national $1,850 baseline. Effective property tax sits at 1.10% of assessed value, meaningfully higher than the 0.99% national average tracked by the Tax Foundation.
Income and tax climate. Massachusetts's top marginal state income tax bracket lands at 5.00% — compared to the volume-weighted national average around 4-5%. BEA's Regional Price Parity scores Cambridge, MA at 178.0 (national = 100), meaning a dollar in Cambridge, MA buys 56¢ of national purchasing power.
Local context as of 2026-04-19.
Cambridge versus the U.S. baseline
| Metric | Cambridge, MA | U.S. baseline | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home value[zillow] | $925,000 | $358,000 | 158.4% |
| Median monthly rent[zillow] | $3,100 | $1,850 | 67.6% |
| Property tax (effective)[tax-foundation] | 1.10% | 0.99% | 11.1% |
| State top marginal income tax[tax-foundation] | 5.00% | ~4.08% (volume-weighted) | 0.9 pp |
| State cost-of-living index[bea-rpp] | 178.0 | 100.0 | 78.0 pts |
How to use the Cost of Living Comparison
Walk through using the Cost of Living Comparison with Cambridge, MA-specific defaults pre-loaded from primary sources.
- Enter your Cambridge numbersFill in the cost of living comparison inputs. Defaults reflect Cambridge, MA 2026: median home $925,000, median rent $3,100/mo, 1.10% effective property tax.
- Apply the local 2026 inputsThe median home value in Cambridge is $925,000 (Zillow ZHVI), with median monthly rent running $3,100/mo.
- Compare against Cambridge contextMonthly PITI on the $925,000 median home in Cambridge is ~$5,867/mo — vs a $3,100/mo median rent.
How Massachusetts Compares to Neighboring States
| State | Median home | Top inc tax | Prop tax rate | RPP (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts (this page) | $620,000 | 9.00% | 1.14% | 107.7 |
| Connecticut side-by-side | $395,000 | 6.99% | 1.96% | 104.2 |
| compare to New Hampshire | $475,000 | None | 1.93% | 105.4 |
| check New York | $470,000 | 10.90% | 1.72% | 107.8 |
| check Rhode Island | $440,000 | 5.99% | 1.53% | 102.1 |
Sources: Zillow ZHVI[1], state Departments of Revenue / Tax Foundation[2], Tax Foundation property taxes[3], BEA Regional Price Parities[4].
What Changes Your Result in Massachusetts
- Massachusetts cost-of-living drag:Line-item costs in Massachusetts deviate from the US mean by whatever the BEA all-items RPP deviates from 100. Weight your budget toward the state average rather than the national average.
Related Calculations for Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Rent Affordability Calculator — rent is the biggest COL line.
How Cambridge Compares to the National Average
Understanding how Cambridge stacks up helps you calibrate your financial planning.
| Metric | Cambridge, MA | US Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Home Price | $925,000 | $420,800 | +119.8% |
| Median Monthly Rent | $3,100 | $1,713 | +81.0% |
| Median Household Income | $108,500 | $74,580 | +45.5% |
| Property Tax Rate | 1.10% | 1.10% | +0.0% |
| Cost of Living Index | 178 | 100 | +78.0% |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, Zillow, NAR (2024–2025). Green = favorable for residents; red = less favorable.
Cambridge Financial Snapshot
- Population (Metro)
- 118,000
- Unemployment
- 3.2%
- Avg Commute
- 26 min
- Median Age
- 31.2
- Price-to-Rent Ratio
- 24.9x
- Annual Property Tax
- $10,175
More Financial Calculators for Cambridge, MA
Cost of Living Comparison in Other Massachusetts Cities
Frequently Asked Questions — Cambridge
- Can median-income households afford the median home in Cambridge?
- With a ~$5,867 monthly PITI and $108,500 median income, housing would consume ~64.9% of gross annual income. Qualifying under the 28% DTI rule requires ~$251,443 in annual income. Educational reference only.
- Is it better to rent or buy in Cambridge?
- Cambridge's price-to-rent ratio (24.9x) tilts toward renting — above 20x, buying is generally expensive relative to renting.
- What is the annual property tax bill on the median home in Cambridge?
- Approximately $10,175/yr at the 1.10% effective rate on the $925,000 median home. The national average effective rate is 1.07%.
- What share of median income goes to rent in Cambridge?
- The $3,100/mo median rent represents 34.3% of the $108,500 median household income. The recommended housing cost threshold is 30%; Cambridge exceeds that guideline. Educational reference only.
- How much does commuting cost in Cambridge?
- Average commute time in Cambridge is 26 minutes per ACS. Estimated annual commute cost runs about $4,529. Educational reference only.
- How does the cost of living in Cambridge compare to the national average?
- Cambridge's BEA RPP index is 178, 78% above the national baseline of 100. For a household earning the national median income of $77,540, this translates to ~$60,481/yr in purchasing power difference. Educational reference only.
- What is the median home price in Cambridge, MA?
- The median home price in Cambridge is $925,000 as of 2025–2026.
- What is the average rent in Cambridge?
- The median monthly rent in Cambridge, MA is $3,100.
- Does the cost of living comparison replace professional advice?
- No. This calculator gives educational estimates using public Cambridge data and standard formulas. It is not personalized tax, legal, or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional for decisions with material consequences.
Massachusetts State Context
Massachusetts Real Estate Tips
Massachusetts median home price of $585,000 is 39% above the national average — driven by Greater Boston demand.
MassHousing offers down payment assistance up to $50,000 in high-cost areas (ONE Mortgage Program).
Massachusetts' property tax rate of 1.23% is moderate, but high home values mean large absolute tax bills.
Massachusetts has a "super lien" for condo associations — unpaid condo fees take priority over first mortgages for up to 6 months of arrears.
Massachusetts Homebuyer Programs
- ✓MassHousing ONE Mortgage — up to $50,000 DPA, no PMI, for first-time buyers in qualifying communities.
- ✓MassHousing Down Payment Assistance — up to $30,000 in DPA statewide.
- ✓Mass. Housing Partnership SoftSecond — subsidized second mortgage for down payment.
Statewide Massachusetts figures apply broadly across Cambridge. County- and city-level variation can be significant — verify against local sources before closing a transaction. [3]
How we compute this — methodology
The Cambridge page uses local median home price ($925,000), median rent ($3,100/mo), and property tax rate (1.10%) alongside the calculator's client-side formula. Calculations run in your browser — no inputs are sent to a server.
Known limits: ZIP-level variance within Cambridge can be substantial — the figures shown are city-wide medians. For a precise property tax quote, consult your county assessor.
Sources
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (Zillow Home Value Index) + ZORI (Zillow Observed Rent Index), city-level. zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for median household income and population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs.
- CalcFi state financial context — tips + first-time homebuyer programs compiled from each state's Housing Finance Authority (HFA) public pages. See
src/data/state-financial-context.ts. - Tax Foundation — state property tax effective rates and state/local sales tax rates. taxfoundation.org.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rate averages used by mortgage-related calculators. freddiemac.com/pmms.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities by State — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration — residential electricity / natural gas / gasoline — www.eia.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — weekly national mortgage rates — www.freddiemac.com/pmms. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- NAIC Dwelling Fire, Homeowners Owners, and Homeowners Tenants Insurance Report — content.naic.org/article/homeowners-insurance-report. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- State Departments of Revenue — official bracket + deduction publications (one primary URL per state; linked in the brackets table below) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Department of Labor — State Minimum Wage Laws — www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) — real median household income, unemployment, HPI, LFPR per state — fred.stlouisfed.org. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
Spot an error? Email [email protected] with the URL and the correct figure.
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