What is the cost of living in Springfield?

Springfield has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 96.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 75.8, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,734/month.

What is the median salary in Springfield?

The median salary in Springfield is $72,417 annually (mean: $75,796). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

How safe is Springfield?

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

What are the schools like in Springfield?

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 Springfield?

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

Is Springfield a good place to relocate?

Springfield has a Life Score of 39.7/100 (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 Springfield in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Springfield sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Springfield ranks #81 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

Springfield, MA

LiveAbility 58.5/100 places Springfield #81 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

96.1
Cost index (US=100): $1,734
2BR rent / mo: $72,417
Median salary: 58.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Springfield ranks #81 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (58.5/100), with its strongest marks in schools and low hazard.

#81
of 387 US metros · Above median: 7,136,171
metro-area population: 309
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 1,831
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: housing (19/100). 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), Springfield ranks #81 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 96.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,734/mo, median salary $72,417; LiveAbility Score 58.5/100, strongest in schools and low hazard.

Signature: LiveAbility 58.5/100 places Springfield #81 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 96.1 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,734/mo.

LiveAbility 58.5/100 puts Springfield in the top third (#81 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Springfield area is 191,450.

Springfield 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)

59 Top 21% higher than 79% 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

Springfield housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Springfield MSA; housing RPP 75.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,734/mo.

Studio

$1,219

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,382

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,734

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,127

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,296

/month

Springfield wages and employment

Springfield posts 191,450 total employment with median salary $72,417.

Median Salary

$72,417

Mean Salary

$75,796

Total Employment

191,450

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$40,860
Registered Nurses	$98,410
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$34,130
Retail Salespersons	$35,440
General and Operations Managers	$106,390

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Springfield area from NCES.

Schools

1,831

Enrollment

918,103

Student:Teacher

12.3:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Springfield area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$20,571

per year

Toddler (Center)

$18,516

per year

Preschool (Center)

$14,656

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Springfield's composite Life Score is 39.7/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

37/100

Below average

Wages

88/100

Elite

Rent

19/100

Bottom decile

Crime

52/100

Average

Schools

10/100

Bottom decile

Childcare

1/100

Bottom decile

Environment

30/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Springfield ranks #81 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 58.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (90/100)

Schools

90
Low hazard

89
Job market

88
Air quality

80
Safety

52
Cost of living

37
Climate

25
Housing

19

What this shows Springfield's strongest dimensions are schools and low hazard; its weakest among scored dims is housing at 19/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Springfield to

Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach Denver-Aurora-Centennial Des Moines-West Des Moines Detroit-Warren-Dearborn Dothan Dover

Metros near Springfield on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Springfield 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

Springfield cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Springfield 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 Springfield?

Springfield runs a $72,417 median salary at a 96.1 cost index, ranking #81 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Springfield's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Springfield head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Springfield
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.