New Haven, CT vs Boston, MA
Moving from New Haven to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($408,096 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
New Haven 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 New Haven, CT, you'd need about $104,779 in Boston, MA (+$4,779).
Livability — New Haven, CT: 58 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,328 sqft in New Haven vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($215 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | New Haven, CT | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $26,232 | $38,532 | +$12,300 |
| 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 | $15,543 | $17,694 | +$2,151 |
| Total | $55,505 | $69,455 | +$13,951 |
Side by side
| Metric | New Haven, CT | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.4 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.36% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.99 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $408,096 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 4.8% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $215 | $436 |
| Median rent | $2,186 | $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 | 2.17% | 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) | 25 | 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $106 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $66 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 150 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 85 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.1 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 51.7 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |