Cost of living in Massachusetts

Massachusetts at a glance

Median rent

$1,762

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$103,960

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$562,100

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$5,992

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

29 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

5.2%

Census ACS, DP03

Massachusetts's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 6% above the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Census ACS 2024 five-year estimates, checked November 2026.

The three most populous counties in Massachusetts

These are the most populous places in Massachusetts, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Middlesex County

  Population

  1.64M

  Rent

  $2,201

  Household income

  $130,847

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $7,501

  Set as targetPlan

• Worcester County

  Population

  868K

  Rent

  $1,426

  Household income

  $95,939

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $5,438

  Set as targetPlan

• Essex County

  Population

  813K

  Rent

  $1,756

  Household income

  $101,883

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $6,430

  Set as targetPlan

Massachusetts, worth the trip

Ratified the Constitution on February 6, 1788, as the sixth state. The Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts in 1620 and Harvard University was established in 1636. The activism of the colonists, the Boston Tea Party included, led to the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775.

• Cape Cod National Seashore

  Forty miles of sandy beach with marshes, ponds, lighthouses and wild cranberry bogs.

• Minute Man National Historical Park

  The battlefields and buildings tied to April 19, 1775, the opening battle of the Revolution.

• Lowell National Historical Park

  Water-powered textile mills where immigrant families and early female factory workers made cloth.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Massachusetts

Current owners in Massachusetts pay a median 1.07% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $5,992 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $3,974 in Nantucket County to $7,501 in Middlesex County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Massachusetts

Life expectancy

79.7 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

2.9%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

13.1%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

75

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Massachusetts as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Massachusetts

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$1.5B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.02

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$943M of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

New homes permitted in Massachusetts

Side by side

Middlesex County, MA is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

The largest counties in Massachusetts

By population, from the Census release named below. Each opens its own page.

1. 1Middlesex County1.64M
2. 2Worcester County868K
3. 3Essex County813K
4. 4Suffolk County785K
5. 5Norfolk County730K
6. 6Bristol County582K
7. 7Plymouth County535K
8. 8Hampden County463K
9. 9Barnstable County232K
10. 10Hampshire County162K

All 14 counties in Massachusetts

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.

What to do with these numbers

Every number here is public. The site adds your side of it: Massachusetts next to your own state, by what you value.

• See Massachusetts beside your own state

  Find your fit puts it next to where you live and the states next door, by what matters to you. Made-up answers are fine, since this is a tool, not a survey. No account needed.

  Find your fit

• Pick a county here and make it your target

  The three counties above each carry Set as target. From there the Journey lays out the runway and the steps. An account keeps it private and yours across devices.

  See the three counties