Overall
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 108.3
- Manchester-Nashua
- 105.7
Diff -2.6 RPP
Boston-Cambridge-Newton vs Manchester-Nashua
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Manchester-Nashua is 2.4% less expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton.
2.4% less expensive
Manchester-Nashua, NH is 2.4% less expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 105.7 vs 108.3). A $100,000 salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton buys about the same as $97,590 in Manchester-Nashua; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 108.3 (Boston-Cambridge-Newton) vs 105.7 (Manchester-Nashua)
- $100k in Boston-Cambridge-Newton ≈ $97,590 purchasing power in Manchester-Nashua
- Services drives the gap (-15.2 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair MA:NH 108.3→105.7
TIER-NEAR · CROSS-STATE · SERVICES-LED · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- TIER-NEAR Near tier
- CROSS-STATE MA × NH
- SERVICES-LED Services-led gap
- 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.
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
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.
Manchester-Nashua, NH is 2.4% less expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, a meaningful but not extreme shift. The move decision turns on which budget category creates the 2.6-point overall gap.
Services leads the difference, with Manchester-Nashua 15.2 points lower than Boston-Cambridge-Newton. Goods, services, and rents all point in the same broad direction, making the headline comparison more transferable across household types.
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 $97,590 in Manchester-Nashua, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Manchester-Nashua
- 97.7
Diff -2.0 RPP
Services
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 148.8
- Manchester-Nashua
- 133.5
Diff -15.2 RPP
Rents
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 148.4
- Manchester-Nashua
- 134.2
Diff -14.2 RPP
| Category | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | Manchester-Nashua | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 108.3 | 105.7 | -2.6 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 97.7 | -2.0 |
| Services | 148.8 | 133.5 | -15.2 |
| Rents | 148.4 | 134.2 | -14.2 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 108.3
Manchester-Nashua 105.7
Goods
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 99.7
Manchester-Nashua 97.7
Services
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 148.8
Manchester-Nashua 133.5
Rents
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 148.4
Manchester-Nashua 134.2
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton would need to be in Manchester-Nashua for the same purchasing power:
| In Boston-Cambridge-Newton | In Manchester-Nashua | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $48,795 | $-1,205 |
| $75,000 | $73,193 | $-1,807 |
| $100,000 | $97,590 | $-2,410 |
| $150,000 | $146,385 | $-3,615 |
$ in Boston-Cambridge-Newton = in Manchester-Nashua
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (108.3 → 105.7), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton
108.3
Cost Index
Manchester-Nashua
105.7
Cost Index
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Manchester-Nashua more expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton?
Manchester-Nashua is 2.4% less expensive than Boston-Cambridge-Newton. The overall cost index is 105.7 vs 108.3 (national average = 100).
What salary in Manchester-Nashua equals $100K in Boston-Cambridge-Newton?
A $100,000 salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton has the same purchasing power as $97,590 in Manchester-Nashua. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Boston-Cambridge-Newton and Manchester-Nashua?
Rents in Boston-Cambridge-Newton are indexed at 148.4 while Manchester-Nashua is at 134.2 (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.