Salisbury, MD vs Boston, MA
Moving from Salisbury to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($429,483 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Salisbury 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 Salisbury, MD, you'd need about $119,160 in Boston, MA (+$19,160).
Livability — Salisbury, MD: 65 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,212 sqft in Salisbury vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($226 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salisbury, MD | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,616 | $38,532 | +$14,916 |
| Groceries | $4,863 | $5,040 | +$176 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,210 | −$475 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $3,180 | +$792 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $1,800 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $9,253 | $17,694 | +$8,441 |
| Total | $45,205 | $69,455 | +$24,250 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salisbury, MD | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.6 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.84% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.9% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.27 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $429,483 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.5% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $226 | $436 |
| Median rent | $1,968 | $3,211 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 11.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 6.25% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 9.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,800 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $108 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $71 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 58% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 4 |