Northeast · Updated October 2026
Massachusetts in numbers, from the same public data Locustep uses to rank all 50 states: rent, pay, taxes, safety, disaster risk and weather, plus the cities worth a look.
Two-bedroom rent
$2,566/mo
U.S. average $1,759
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state)
Rent vs. income
29.4%
of median household income for a year of two-bedroom rent
HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 ÷ 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (Census B19013)
State income tax
9%
top marginal rate, single filer
State revenue departments, 2026 income tax rates (sources listed per state)
Property tax
1.00%
effective rate on owner-occupied homes
Everyday costs
101.3
index, housing excluded (U.S. = 100)
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released February 2026), housing and utilities removed
Natural disaster risk
17th
percentile, FEMA expected annual loss (lower is safer)
Where Massachusetts stands out: the 7th lowest natural-disaster risk and the highest median household income among the 50 states.
What to weigh: the 5th heaviest state and local tax bill, the 2nd most expensive two-bedroom rent, the 5th biggest rent-to-income bite and the 7th highest top income-tax rate.
Overall, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 12.7% of it in state and local income, property and sales tax here, the 5th highest of the 50 states.
Average afternoon highs and overnight lows in Boston (Boston Logan Intl Airport station), NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
| Season | High | Low |
|---|---|---|
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 39°F | 26°F |
| Spring (Mar–May) | 56°F | 41°F |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 80°F | 64°F |
| Fall (Sep–Nov) | 62°F | 48°F |
$3,008/mo two-bedroom · $2,518 one-bedroom (Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area)
Boston is dense, old, walkable and academically saturated, with world-leading hospitals and universities. Housing is among the most expensive in the country, winters are long, and the local manner is direct to the point of brusque.
$3,008/mo two-bedroom · $2,518 one-bedroom (Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area)
Cambridge is Harvard and MIT's city — extraordinary intellectual density, biotech money in Kendall Square, and some of the highest rents in America. Walkable, subway-connected and small enough to cross on foot.
$2,043/mo two-bedroom · $1,587 one-bedroom (Worcester, MA HUD Metro FMR Area)
Worcester is Massachusetts's second city — hilly, affordable by state standards, with a dozen colleges and a growing biomanufacturing sector. A commuter-rail ride from Boston and considerably cheaper.
$2,034/mo two-bedroom · $1,593 one-bedroom (Amherst Town-Northampton, MA MSA)
Northampton is a small, arts-driven western Massachusetts town with a famously strong LGBTQ+ community and five colleges nearby. Walkable, liberal, and pricier than the surrounding valley.
$1,800/mo two-bedroom · $1,421 one-bedroom (Springfield, MA MSA)
Springfield is western Massachusetts' largest city, on the Connecticut River, home to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Far cheaper than Boston, with higher poverty and crime, and Amtrak and Hartford Line trains south.
$3,008/mo two-bedroom · $2,518 one-bedroom (Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area)
Salem is a historic coastal city north of Boston, defined publicly by the witch trials and commercially by October tourism. Walkable, on the commuter rail, and cheaper than Boston proper.
$2,488/mo two-bedroom · $1,902 one-bedroom (Barnstable Town, MA MSA)
Provincetown sits at the tip of Cape Cod — a legendary LGBTQ+ resort town with dunes, beaches and an intense summer season. Housing is extremely expensive and scarce, and winter is very quiet.
$1,668/mo two-bedroom · $1,305 one-bedroom (New Bedford, MA HUD Metro FMR Area)
New Bedford is a historic whaling port that is still one of the country's highest-value fishing ports, with a strong Portuguese and Cape Verdean heritage. Affordable by Massachusetts standards, with an economy still recovering.
Rents: HUD Fair Market Rents FY2027 (40th percentile, population-weighted across the state) (metro areas). City notes: Locustep.
Closest on Locustep’s match factors: cost, housing, taxes, safety, jobs, schools, healthcare, outdoors, disaster risk and climate.
Ranks compare the 50 states. Locustep updates these figures when the agencies publish new data.
Yes. Massachusetts’s top marginal income-tax rate for a single filer is 9% (Massachusetts tax law, 2026). Counting property and sales tax too, a married couple on the U.S. median household income would pay about 12.7% of income in state and local taxes (Locustep estimate, 2026).
A typical two-bedroom rents for about $2,566 a month and a one-bedroom for about $2,087, using HUD’s FY2027 Fair Market Rents averaged across the state by population. That is $807 more than the U.S. average of $1,759. Rent in the bigger metros can be well above the state figure.
Leaving housing aside, everyday prices (goods and services other than housing) index at 101.3 against a U.S. average of 100 (BEA, 2024), and the median home value indexes at 168.4 against the U.S. median (Census, 2024). Two-bedroom rent takes 29.4% of the state’s median household income of $104,828.
Massachusetts recorded 314.7 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2024 (FBI), the 25th lowest rate of the 50 states. Crime varies a lot between and within cities, so check the specific area you’re considering.
The main hazards are severe winter storms. On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Massachusetts’s expected yearly loss from natural hazards sits at the 17th percentile nationally (lower is safer). Risk differs sharply by county, so look up the county too.
Places people most often weigh include Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, Northampton and Springfield. Each has a different cost, climate and character; Locustep compares their rent, disaster risk, weather and pay side by side.