Pensacola, FL vs Boston, MA
Moving from Pensacola to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($310,470 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Pensacola 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 Pensacola, FL, you'd need about $115,174 in Boston, MA (+$15,174).
Livability — Pensacola, FL: 70 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,980 sqft in Pensacola vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($168 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Pensacola, FL | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,180 | $38,532 | +$17,352 |
| Groceries | $4,813 | $5,040 | +$226 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,210 | −$1,590 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $3,180 | +$1,524 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $1,800 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $3,897 | $17,694 | +$13,797 |
| Total | $40,546 | $69,455 | +$28,909 |
Side by side
| Metric | Pensacola, FL | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.8 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.65% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.0% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.45 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $310,470 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.7% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $168 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,765 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.62% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 60.0 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |