Boston, MA vs Oklahoma City, OK
Moving from Boston to Oklahoma City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $246,872 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Oklahoma City 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 $82,836 in Oklahoma City, OK (−$17,164).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Oklahoma City, OK: 70 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 3,849 sqft in Oklahoma City ($436 vs $130 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Oklahoma City, OK | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $16,788 | −$21,744 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,667 | −$373 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,575 | +$365 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,440 | −$1,740 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $4,400 | +$2,600 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $9,841 | −$7,853 |
| Total | $69,455 | $40,711 | −$28,745 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Oklahoma City, OK |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 91.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 4.47% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.20 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $246,872 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 3.6× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $130 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,399 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 9.0% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 8.99% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 4.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.99% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $4,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $300 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $83 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 94 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 27 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 36.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 6.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 68% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |