Overall
108.3
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
Cost-of-living indicators for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 108.3
- Overall RPP
- #19
- of 387 metros
- 148.4
- Rents RPP
- $92K
- $100K national buys
Boston ranks #19 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to Vallejo
The verdict
Boston is more expensive than 95% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 108.3, 8.3% above the national average, led by services at 148.8.
- top 5%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 99.7
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 148.8
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $92,365 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $108,266.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Boston's overall RPP fell -2.1 points, from 110.4 in 2023 to 108.3 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 172.2 to 148.8. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 0.6 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2016, when the index jumped 3.8 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Boston overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 107.7 |
| 2009 | 106.6 |
| 2010 | 106.3 |
| 2011 | 106.6 |
| 2012 | 106.0 |
| 2013 | 104.3 |
| 2014 | 105.8 |
| 2015 | 106.3 |
| 2016 | 110.1 |
| 2017 | 109.1 |
| 2018 | 110.3 |
| 2019 | 109.9 |
| 2020 | 112.5 |
| 2021 | 109.8 |
| 2022 | 112.2 |
| 2023 | 110.4 |
| 2024 | 108.3 |
Boston vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
108 Top 5% higher than 95% of 387 US metros
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, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Boston cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
148.4 RPP
- Services
Services
148.8 RPP
- Overall
Overall
108.3 RPP
- Goods
Goods
99.7 RPP
What this shows Boston's strongest departure is services at 148.8; rents follows at 148.4. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Boston's cost comes from
Metros near Boston's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Boston (Boston, this metro): goods RPP 99.7, rents RPP 148.4
- Vallejo: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 142
- San Luis Obispo: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 144.4
- Santa Rosa: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 139.6
- Santa Maria: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 151.4
- Washington: goods RPP 104.8, rents RPP 151.1
- Salinas: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 145.7
Price Index Summary
Goods
99.7
Below avg
Services
148.8
Expensive
Rents
148.4
Expensive
Service-cost-led profile
How Boston's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Boston: the BEA services component is 148.8, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 108.3 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area, Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA. They resemble Boston across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Boston's overall index has stayed within 0.6 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$108,266
in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$54,133
$75,000 nationally
$81,200
$125,000 nationally
$135,333
$150,000 nationally
$162,399
$200,000 nationally
$216,532
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
4/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
4th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
MA-relative analysis
Services prices places Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH near the bottom of MA's metros
Among the 6 MA metros PlainCost tracks with reported services prices data, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH ranks #6 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 6
83rd percentile in MA
Services prices
#6 of 6
0th percentile in MA
Rent prices
#1 of 6
83rd percentile in MA
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within MA only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (108.3 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (148.4 here).
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Rents 148.6 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Rents 146.9 Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area Rents 150.5 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Rents 151.1 Salinas, CA Rents 145.7 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Rents 151.3 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Rents 155.6 Boulder, CO Rents 157.0
Other MA Metros
Worcester, MA 102.5 Amherst Town-Northampton, MA 100.2 Barnstable Town, MA 98.4 Springfield, MA 96.1 Pittsfield, MA 95.1
View all MA metros → Cheapest in MA → Most expensive in MA →
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Boston's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area
Goods 97.3 · Services 147.1 · Rents 150.5 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 149.8 · Rents 151.4 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 147.8 · Rents 144.4 Salinas, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 154.2 · Rents 145.7 Vallejo, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 155.0 · Rents 142.0 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 154.8 · Rents 139.6
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH's index of 108.3.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Boston
How to read Boston's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $92,365 in Boston. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 148.8, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Boston head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH?
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 108.3, meaning it is 8.3% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 99.7, services at 148.8, and rents at 148.4. It ranks #19 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $108,266 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH. Conversely, $100K earned in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH has the purchasing power of $92,365 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH?
Rents in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH are indexed at 148.4, which is 48.4% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH's overall cost index changed by +0.6 points (from 107.7 to 108.3). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH?
The priciest category in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH is services at 148.8, 48.8% above the national average. The most affordable category is goods at 99.7, 0.3% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Vallejo, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Santa Rosa-Petaluma. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH's 108.3.
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.