Hartford, CT vs Boston, MA
Moving from Hartford to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($400,167 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Hartford 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 Hartford, CT, you'd need about $106,874 in Boston, MA (+$6,874).
Livability — Hartford, CT: 59 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,374 sqft in Hartford vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($211 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Hartford, CT | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,700 | $38,532 | +$14,832 |
| Groceries | $4,930 | $5,040 | +$110 |
| Transportation | $3,720 | $3,210 | −$510 |
| Utilities | $3,480 | $3,180 | −$300 |
| Insurance | $1,600 | $1,800 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $15,460 | $17,694 | +$2,234 |
| Total | $52,890 | $69,455 | +$16,566 |
Side by side
| Metric | Hartford, CT | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.3 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.42% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.2% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 40 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.88 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $400,167 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.2% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $211 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,975 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 15.4% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.35% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.99% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 2.16% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,200 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.07% | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 32.2 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.40 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 150 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |