Cost Of Living in South Boston, MA

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	South Boston	Boston	Massachusetts
Cost of living	190	166	133
Goods & Services	122	122	122
Groceries	105	105	105
Health care	113	113	113
Housing	356	274	165
Transportation	118	118	118
Utilities	134	134	134

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in South Boston is 43% higher than the Boston average
The cost of living in South Boston is 90% higher than the national average
South Boston housing is 256% higher than the national average
Massachusetts general sales tax is 22% higher than the national average
Massachusetts state income tax is 93% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Household	$132,281	$11,023	$3,086	$3,969

Massachusetts Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Massachusetts	6.25%	6.25%

Massachusetts Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Massachusetts	5%	9%

Goods & Services

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$43.72	$24.26	80.2%
Beauty Salon	$65.56	$45.56	43.9%
Toothpaste	$3.53	$3.70	4.7%
Shampoo	$1.49	$1.28	16.4%
Movie	$15.49	$12.13	27.6%
Bowling	$29.33	$18.00	63.0%

Groceries

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.48	$5.84	6.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.45	$1.57	8.0%
Milk	$4.76	$4.67	1.9%
Potatoes	$4.99	$4.93	1.1%
Pizza	$12.52	$12.09	3.6%
Beer	$10.21	$10.41	1.9%

Health Care

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$123.17	$125.68	2.0%
Doctor	$157.89	$135.78	16.3%
Dentist	$149.22	$113.29	31.7%
Ibuprofen	$11.39	$10.65	6.9%
Lipitor	$384.69	$468.60	17.9%

Housing

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$581,200.00	$184,700.00	214.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$4,745.89	$2,346.69	102.2%
Apartment Rent	$1,685.00	$949.00	77.6%

Transportation

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.43	$3.46	0.9%
Tire Balancing	$97.39	$59.92	62.5%

Utilities

Item	Boston	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$302.72	$193.99	56.0%
Phone	$187.85	$192.25	2.3%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Southfield, MA	0	119	19.2%
Randolph, MA	33,526	126	26.4%
Holbrook, MA	11,051	131	30.6%
Lynn, MA	94,201	136	35.5%
Salem, MA	43,350	139	39.2%
Boston, MA	689,326	166	65.5%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Vancouver, BC	694,440	n/a
El Paso, TX	679,879	89	10.6%
Washington, DC	701,974	164	63.7%
Detroit, MI	672,351	84	15.5%
Nashville, TN	667,070	108	8.4%
Boston, MA	689,326	166	65.5%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in South Boston, Boston, MA