Overall
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 108.3
Diff -2.7 RPP
Boston-Cambridge-Newton vs Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard is 2.5% less expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton.
2.5% less expensive
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA is 2.5% less expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 105.6 vs 108.3). A $100,000 salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton buys about the same as $97,544 in Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 108.3 (Boston-Cambridge-Newton) vs 105.6 (Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard)
- $100k in Boston-Cambridge-Newton ≈ $97,544 purchasing power in Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard
- Services drives the gap (-56.7 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:WA 108.3→105.6
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE MA × WA
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-ABOVE Both above 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +5.4 RPP
Services
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 148.8
Diff -56.7 RPP
Rents
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 148.4
Diff -18.8 RPP
| Category | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 108.3 | 105.6 | -2.7 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 105.0 | +5.4 |
| Services | 148.8 | 92.0 | -56.7 |
| Rents | 148.4 | 129.6 | -18.8 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 108.3
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard 105.6
Goods
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 99.7
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard 105.0
Services
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 148.8
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard 92.0
Rents
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 148.4
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard 129.6
Vertical line = national average (100)
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Services creates the largest separation: Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard is 56.7 points lower. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA is 2.5% less expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.7-point overall gap.
Both metros exceed the U.S. benchmark of 100. The choice is between two national premiums, so local wages need to clear the higher baseline in either market.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton to $97,544 in Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton
108.3
Cost Index
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard
105.6
Cost Index
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton would need to be in Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard for the same purchasing power:
| In Boston-Cambridge-Newton | In Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,772 | $-1,228 |
| $75,000 | $73,158 | $-1,842 |
| $100,000 | $97,544 | $-2,456 |
| $150,000 | $146,316 | $-3,684 |
$ in Boston-Cambridge-Newton = in Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (108.3 → 105.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard more expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton?
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard is 2.5% less expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton. The overall cost index is 105.6 vs 108.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard equals $100K in Boston-Cambridge-Newton?
A $100,000 salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton has the same purchasing power as $97,544 in Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boston-Cambridge-Newton and Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard?
Rents in Boston-Cambridge-Newton are indexed at 148.4 while Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard is at 129.6 (national average = 100). Boston-Cambridge-Newton has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.