Boston, MA vs Lincoln, NE
Moving from Boston to Lincoln? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $304,242 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Lincoln 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 $83,242 in Lincoln, NE (−$16,758).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Lincoln, NE: 68 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,793 sqft in Lincoln ($436 vs $179 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Lincoln, NE | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $16,128 | −$22,404 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,827 | −$212 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,300 | +$90 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,440 | −$1,740 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $3,600 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $11,420 | −$6,274 |
| Total | $69,455 | $40,715 | −$28,740 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Lincoln, NE |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 91.9 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 3.11% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 5.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.23 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $304,242 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 4.1% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $179 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,344 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 6.97% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 5.20% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 2.27% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 19 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $79 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $108 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $75 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 14 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 28.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 25.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 62% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |