What is the cost of living in Boston-Cambridge-Newton?

Boston-Cambridge-Newton has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 108.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 148.4, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $2,941/month.

What is the median salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton?

The median salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton is $83,802 annually (mean: $87,612). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses.

How safe is Boston-Cambridge-Newton?

The violent crime rate in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area is 309 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1101 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Boston-Cambridge-Newton?

The state of MA has 1,831 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.3:1. Charter schools make up 4.2% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Boston-Cambridge-Newton?

Infant center-based childcare in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area averages $20,571 per year. Preschool averages $14,656/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Boston-Cambridge-Newton a good place to relocate?

Boston-Cambridge-Newton has a Life Score of 32.3/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Boston-Cambridge-Newton in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Boston-Cambridge-Newton sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Boston-Cambridge-Newton ranks #218 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

BEA RPP 108.3 ranks #369 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

108.3
Cost index (US=100): $2,941
2BR rent / mo: $83,802
Median salary: 49.7
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Boston-Cambridge-Newton ranks #218 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (49.7/100), with its strongest marks in job market and schools.

#218
of 387 US metros · Near median: 7,136,171
metro-area population: 309
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,831
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (1/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Boston-Cambridge-Newton ranks #218 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 108.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $2,941/mo, median salary $83,802; LiveAbility Score 49.7/100, strongest in job market and schools.

Signature: BEA RPP 108.3 ranks #369 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 108.3 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $2,941/mo.

LiveAbility 49.7/100 keeps Boston-Cambridge-Newton in the middle third (#218 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area is 2,639,240.

Boston-Cambridge-Newton vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

50 Top 57% higher than 43% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Boston-Cambridge-Newton housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton MSA; housing RPP 148.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $2,941/mo.

Studio

$2,359

/month

1 Bedroom

$2,476

/month

2 Bedroom

$2,941

/month

3 Bedroom

$3,526

/month

4 Bedroom

$3,894

/month

Boston-Cambridge-Newton wages and employment

Boston-Cambridge-Newton posts 2,639,240 total employment with median salary $83,802 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$83,802

Mean Salary

$87,612

Total Employment

2,639,240

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$40,910
General and Operations Managers	$133,800
Registered Nurses	$106,180
Retail Salespersons	$36,850
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$36,290

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area from NCES.

Schools

1,831

Enrollment

918,103

Student:Teacher

12.3:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$20,571

per year

Toddler (Center)

$18,516

per year

Preschool (Center)

$14,656

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Boston-Cambridge-Newton's composite Life Score is 32.3/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

5/100

Bottom decile

Wages

98/100

Elite

Rent

1/100

Bottom decile

Crime

52/100

Average

Schools

8/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

1/100

Bottom decile

Environment

29/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Boston-Cambridge-Newton ranks #218 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 49.7/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (98/100)

Job market

98
Schools

92
Low hazard

90
Air quality

58
Safety

52
Climate

24
Cost of living

5
Housing

1

What this shows Boston-Cambridge-Newton's strongest dimensions are job market and schools; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 1/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Boston-Cambridge-Newton to

Cedar Rapids Chambersburg Champaign-Urbana Charleston-North Charleston Charleston Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia

Metros near Boston-Cambridge-Newton on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Boston-Cambridge-Newton on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Boston-Cambridge-Newton cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Boston-Cambridge-Newton wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Boston-Cambridge-Newton?

Boston-Cambridge-Newton runs a $83,802 median salary at a 108.3 cost index, ranking #218 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Boston-Cambridge-Newton's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Boston-Cambridge-Newton head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Boston-Cambridge-Newton
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.