Boston, MA vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Boston to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Baltimore 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 Boston, MA, you'd need about $93,470 in Baltimore, MD (−$6,530).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($436 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $23,028 | −$15,504 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $5,075 | +$35 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,685 | +$475 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $2,388 | −$792 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,400 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $11,584 | −$6,109 |
| Total | $69,455 | $47,160 | −$22,295 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $214 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $88 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $106 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 45.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 19.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |