Cleveland, OH vs Boston, MA
Moving from Cleveland to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($252,210 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Cleveland vs Boston 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 Cleveland, OH, you'd need about $120,780 in Boston, MA (+$20,780).
Livability — Cleveland, OH: 71 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,270 sqft in Cleveland vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($153 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Cleveland, OH | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,532 | $38,532 | +$21,000 |
| Groceries | $4,830 | $5,040 | +$210 |
| Transportation | $3,025 | $3,210 | +$185 |
| Utilities | $2,100 | $3,180 | +$1,080 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $1,800 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $9,518 | $17,694 | +$8,176 |
| Total | $38,305 | $69,455 | +$31,150 |
Side by side
| Metric | Cleveland, OH | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 91.4 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.88% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.8% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.20 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $252,210 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.8× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.3% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $153 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,461 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.0% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.24% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 3.50% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.84% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.5 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.25 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $104 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 300 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 20 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.0 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 63.8 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 49% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |