Overall
102.5
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Worcester, MA
Cost-of-living indicators for Worcester, MA, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 102.5
- Overall RPP
- #51
- of 387 metros
- 113.0
- Rents RPP
- $98K
- $100K national buys
Worcester ranks #51 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has fallen 2.1 points since 2008.
- falling since 2008
- similar cost to Bozeman
The verdict
Worcester is more expensive than 87% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 102.5, 2.5% above the national average, led by services at 155.2.
- top 13%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 97.0
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 155.2
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $97,539 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $102,523.
Worcester vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
103 Top 13% higher than 87% 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
Worcester cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
113 RPP
- Services
Services
155.2 RPP
- Overall
Overall
102.5 RPP
- Goods
Goods
97 RPP
What this shows Worcester's strongest departure is services at 155.2; rents follows at 113.0. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where Worcester's cost comes from
Metros near Worcester's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Worcester (Worcester, this metro): goods RPP 97, rents RPP 113
- Bozeman: goods RPP 96, rents RPP 139.2
- Philadelphia: goods RPP 96.8, rents RPP 113.1
- Mount Vernon: goods RPP 105, rents RPP 108.2
- North Port: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 128
- Cape Coral: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 125.1
- Hartford: goods RPP 97.3, rents RPP 110.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
97.0
Below avg
Services
155.2
Expensive
Rents
113.0
Expensive
Service-cost-led profile
How Worcester's cost structure works
Services are the defining pressure in Worcester: the BEA services component is 155.2, farther above the national baseline than local rents or tradable goods. That service-heavy pattern explains an overall RPP of 102.5 differently from a housing-led metro.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Stockton-Lodi, CA, Modesto, CA, Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT. They resemble Worcester 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, Worcester's overall index has fallen by 2.1 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:
$102,523
in Worcester, MA purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$51,261
$75,000 nationally
$76,892
$125,000 nationally
$128,154
$150,000 nationally
$153,784
$200,000 nationally
$205,046
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
15/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
15th 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.
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Worcester's overall RPP fell -0.5 points, from 103.0 in 2023 to 102.5 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 109.2 to 113.0. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending downward, decreasing by 2.1 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2022, when the index jumped 4.6 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Worcester overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 104.7 |
| 2009 | 103.5 |
| 2010 | 103.2 |
| 2011 | 103.8 |
| 2012 | 103.0 |
| 2013 | 101.7 |
| 2014 | 103.1 |
| 2015 | 102.0 |
| 2016 | 106.3 |
| 2017 | 104.8 |
| 2018 | 101.4 |
| 2019 | 101.0 |
| 2020 | 101.8 |
| 2021 | 100.4 |
| 2022 | 105.1 |
| 2023 | 103.0 |
| 2024 | 102.5 |
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Worcester'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.
Stockton-Lodi, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 158.2 · Rents 115.6 Modesto, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 152.3 · Rents 108.5 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 144.9 · Rents 110.2 Yuba City, CA
Goods 105.2 · Services 160.8 · Rents 108.3 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
Goods 97.1 · Services 148.8 · Rents 103.9 New Haven, CT
Goods 97.3 · Services 144.8 · Rents 124.3
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Worcester, MA's index of 102.5.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
MA-relative analysis
Goods prices places Worcester, MA near the bottom of MA's metros
Among the 6 MA metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Worcester, MA ranks #2 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Worcester, MA only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#2 of 6
0th percentile in MA
Services prices
#3 of 6
50th percentile in MA
Rent prices
#2 of 6
67th 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 Worcester, MA: 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 (102.5 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (113.0 here).
Other MA Metros
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 108.3 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 →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
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.
What this means for Worcester
How to read Worcester'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 $97,539 in Worcester. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 155.2, 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 Worcester 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 Worcester, MA?
Worcester, MA has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 102.5, meaning it is 2.5% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 97.0, services at 155.2, and rents at 113.0. It ranks #51 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Worcester, MA to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $102,523 in Worcester, MA. Conversely, $100K earned in Worcester, MA has the purchasing power of $97,539 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Worcester, MA?
Rents in Worcester, MA are indexed at 113.0, which is 13.0% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Worcester, MA getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Worcester, MA's overall cost index changed by -2.1 points (from 104.7 to 102.5). The cost of living has been declining.
What costs the most in Worcester, MA?
The priciest category in Worcester, MA is services at 155.2, 55.2% above the national average. The most affordable category is goods at 97.0, 3.0% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Worcester, MA?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Bozeman, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Mount Vernon-Anacortes. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Worcester, MA's 102.5.
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.