Boston, MA vs Manchester, NH
Moving from Boston to Manchester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $526,340 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Manchester 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 $95,678 in Manchester, NH (−$4,322).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Manchester, NH: 62 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 1,710 sqft in Manchester ($436 vs $292 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Manchester, NH | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $25,632 | −$12,900 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,935 | −$104 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $2,955 | −$255 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $2,940 | −$240 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,000 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $6,681 | −$11,012 |
| Total | $69,455 | $44,143 | −$25,312 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Manchester, NH |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 105.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 3.69% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 4.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 43 | 37 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $6.01 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $526,340 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 5.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $292 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $2,136 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.88% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | 1.80% |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 27.2 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 120 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 81 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 10 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 3 |