Boston, MA vs Hartford, CT
Moving from Boston to Hartford? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $400,167 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Hartford 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 $93,568 in Hartford, CT (−$6,432).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Hartford, CT: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,374 sqft in Hartford ($436 vs $211 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Hartford, CT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $23,700 | −$14,832 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,930 | −$110 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,720 | +$510 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $3,480 | +$300 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,600 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $15,460 | −$2,234 |
| Total | $69,455 | $52,890 | −$16,566 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Hartford, CT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 103.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 5.42% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 0.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.88 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $400,167 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 4.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 5.2% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $211 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,975 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 15.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 6.35% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 6.99% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 2.16% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 2.07% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 32.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.40 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $106 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $88 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $66 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 150 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 18 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 47.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 51.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |