Tampa, FL vs Boston, MA
Moving from Tampa to Boston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($360,738 → $741,868 median home) and taxes.
Tampa 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 Tampa, FL, you'd need about $107,729 in Boston, MA (+$7,729).
Livability — Tampa, FL: 65 · Boston, MA: 48 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,564 sqft in Tampa vs 1,146 sqft in Boston ($195 vs $436 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tampa, FL | Boston, MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,216 | $38,532 | +$14,316 |
| Groceries | $4,949 | $5,040 | +$91 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,210 | −$1,590 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $3,180 | +$1,524 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $1,800 | −$2,400 |
| Taxes | $4,642 | $17,694 | +$13,052 |
| Total | $44,463 | $69,455 | +$24,993 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tampa, FL | Boston, MA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 110.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.92% | 5.02% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.3% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 43 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $6.28 |
| Median home price | $360,738 | $741,868 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 6.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.4% | 1.6% |
| Price per square foot | $195 | $436 |
| Median rent | $2,018 | $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 | 0.80% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $8,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $21,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.25% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 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 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 330 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 4 |