Albany, NY vs Boston, MA
Moving from Albany to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($370,533 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Albany vs Boston at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Albany, NY, you'd need about $112,443 in Boston, MA (+$12,443).
Livability — Albany, NY: 58 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,159 sqft in Albany vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($232 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Albany, NY | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,172 | $38,532 | +$18,360 |
| Groceries | $4,868 | $5,040 | +$172 |
| Transportation | $3,895 | $3,210 | −$685 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $3,180 | +$0 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,800 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $18,849 | $17,694 | −$1,155 |
| Total | $52,564 | $69,455 | +$16,891 |
Side by side
| Metric | Albany, NY | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.2 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.97% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.3% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 37 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $370,533 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.5% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $232 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,681 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.9% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.52% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 10.90% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.95% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,800 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $17,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.45 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 350 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 83 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 16 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 4 |