Boston, MA vs Trenton, NJ
Moving from Boston to Trenton? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($741,868 → $446,377 median home) and taxes.
Boston vs Trenton 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 $92,776 in Trenton, NJ (−$7,224).
Livability — Boston, MA: 48 · Trenton, NJ: 56 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,146 sqft in Boston vs 2,129 sqft in Trenton ($436 vs $235 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boston, MA | Trenton, NJ | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $38,532 | $31,476 | −$7,056 |
| Groceries | $5,040 | $4,888 | −$152 |
| Transportation | $3,210 | $3,710 | +$500 |
| Utilities | $3,180 | $2,544 | −$636 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $1,300 | −$500 |
| Taxes | $17,694 | $21,636 | +$3,943 |
| Total | $69,455 | $65,554 | −$3,901 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boston, MA | Trenton, NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 110.4 | 102.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.02% | 6.12% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 2.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 43 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.28 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $741,868 | $446,377 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.6% | -0.1% |
| Price per square foot | $436 | $235 |
| Median rent | $3,211 | $2,623 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 13.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 6.60% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.00% | 10.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 2.62% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $7,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $21,000 | $13,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.25% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 31 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 29.4 | 23.5 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.25 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 200 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 86 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 23 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 5 |