McAllen, TX vs Boston, MA
Moving from McAllen to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($193,978 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
McAllen 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 McAllen, TX, you'd need about $128,252 in Boston, MA (+$28,252).
Livability — McAllen, TX: 78 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,411 sqft in McAllen vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($92 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | McAllen, TX | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,536 | $38,532 | +$24,996 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $5,040 | +$393 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,210 | −$465 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $3,180 | +$1,344 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $1,800 | −$1,800 |
| Taxes | $4,917 | $17,694 | +$12,777 |
| Total | $32,211 | $69,455 | +$37,245 |
Side by side
| Metric | McAllen, TX | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 86.1 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.61% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.0% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 54 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $4.90 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $193,978 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.6% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $92 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,128 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.82% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |