Boston, MA vs Salem, OR
Moving from Boston to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Salem 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 $92,813 in Salem, OR (−$7,187).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($436 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $19,536 | −$18,996 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $5,239 | +$199 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,680 | +$470 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $1,704 | −$1,476 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $900 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $13,135 | −$4,558 |
| Total | $69,455 | $44,194 | −$25,261 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $268 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $108 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $71 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 58% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |