Overall
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 108.3
Diff +1.4 RPP
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury vs Boston-Cambridge-Newton
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Boston-Cambridge-Newton is 1.3% more expensive than Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury.
1.3% more expensive
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH is 1.3% more expensive than Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 108.3 vs 106.9). A $100,000 salary in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury buys about the same as $101,312 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton; the largest component gap is goods.
- Overall RPP 106.9 (Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury) vs 108.3 (Boston-Cambridge-Newton)
- $100k in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury ≈ $101,312 purchasing power in Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- Goods drives the gap (+2.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair CT:MA 106.9→108.3
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-ABOVE · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE CT × MA
- 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.
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury
106.9
Cost Index
Boston-Cambridge-Newton
108.3
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area and Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH are a photo finish on overall price level, only 1.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Goods creates the largest separation: Boston-Cambridge-Newton is 2.3 points higher. But rents move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
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.
For a goods-led difference, remember that many tradable prices vary less by address than housing or labor-priced services. Use $101,312 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton as the BEA equivalent of $100,000 in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, then replace the national basket with your own.
Category Breakdown
Goods
Diff +2.3 RPP
Services
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 148.8
Diff +1.7 RPP
Rents
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton
- 148.4
Diff -2.0 RPP
| Category | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 106.9 | 108.3 | +1.4 |
| Goods | 97.3 | 99.7 | +2.3 |
| Services | 147.1 | 148.8 | +1.7 |
| Rents | 150.5 | 148.4 | -2.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury 106.9
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 108.3
Goods
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury 97.3
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 99.7
Services
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury 147.1
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 148.8
Rents
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury 150.5
Boston-Cambridge-Newton 148.4
Vertical line = national average (100)
How the Price Gap Changed
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury and Boston-Cambridge-Newton share 17 published annual releases from 2008 through 2024. Their overall gap narrowed, moving from 9.3 to 1.4 RPP points. Boston-Cambridge-Newton remained the higher-index metro in the latest release.
Goods changed the most within this pair: its gap moved 21.9 points between the first and latest shared releases (19.6 to 2.3 points). This describes a relative price-index history, not a forecast or a household budget.
| Release Year | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury RPP | Boston-Cambridge-Newton RPP | Relative Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 117.0 | 107.7 | 9.3 points Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury higher |
| 2012 | 113.9 | 106.0 | 7.9 points Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury higher |
| 2016 | 113.8 | 110.1 | 3.7 points Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury higher |
| 2020 | 108.6 | 112.5 | 3.9 points Boston-Cambridge-Newton higher |
| 2024 | 106.9 | 108.3 | 1.4 points Boston-Cambridge-Newton higher |
Annual BEA Regional Price Parity releases; a higher index means a higher price level relative to the national average of 100. Selected years shown from the full shared series.
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury would need to be in Boston-Cambridge-Newton for the same purchasing power:
| In Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury | In Boston-Cambridge-Newton | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,656 | +$656 |
| $75,000 | $75,984 | +$984 |
| $100,000 | $101,312 | +$1,312 |
| $150,000 | $151,968 | +$1,968 |
$ in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury = in Boston-Cambridge-Newton
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (106.9 → 108.3), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boston-Cambridge-Newton more expensive than Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury?
Boston-Cambridge-Newton is 1.3% more expensive than Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury. The overall cost index is 108.3 vs 106.9 (national average = 100).
What salary in Boston-Cambridge-Newton equals $100K in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury?
A $100,000 salary in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury has the same purchasing power as $101,312 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury and Boston-Cambridge-Newton?
Rents in Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury are indexed at 150.5 while Boston-Cambridge-Newton is at 148.4 (national average = 100). Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury 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.