Cost Of Living in Williamstown, 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	Williamstown	Massachusetts	National
Cost of living	123	133	100
Goods & Services	106	122	100
Groceries	103	105	100
Health care	93	113	100
Housing	172	165	100
Transportation	97	118	100
Utilities	102	134	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Williamstown is 7% lower than the Massachusetts average
The cost of living in Williamstown is 23% higher than the national average
Williamstown housing is 72% 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)
Owners	$135,658	$11,305	$3,165	$4,070
Renters	$42,206	$3,517	$985	$1,266

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Williamstown is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Williamstown has a median income of about $135,658 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $3,165 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $42,206. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $985 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

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	Williamstown	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$28.28	$24.26	16.6%
Beauty Salon	$51.36	$45.56	12.7%
Toothpaste	$3.74	$3.70	1.1%
Shampoo	$1.28	$1.28	0.3%
Movie	$13.08	$12.13	7.8%
Bowling	$15.96	$18.00	11.3%

Groceries

Item	Williamstown	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.06	$5.84	3.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.60	$1.57	1.5%
Milk	$4.85	$4.67	3.9%
Potatoes	$5.09	$4.93	3.2%
Pizza	$14.69	$12.09	21.5%
Beer	$10.90	$10.41	4.7%

Health Care

Item	Williamstown	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$132.47	$125.68	5.4%
Doctor	$111.33	$135.78	18.0%
Dentist	$111.69	$113.29	1.4%
Ibuprofen	$10.90	$10.65	2.3%
Lipitor	$436.57	$468.60	6.8%

Housing

Item	Williamstown	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$371,800.00	$184,700.00	101.3%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,531.65	$2,346.69	7.9%
Apartment Rent	$975.00	$949.00	2.7%

Transportation

Item	Williamstown	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.55	$3.46	2.5%
Tire Balancing	$50.33	$59.92	16.0%

Utilities

Item	Williamstown	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$196.70	$193.99	1.4%
Phone	$195.71	$192.25	1.8%

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.
Cheshire, MA	683	89	10.8%
Readsboro, VT	309	92	8.2%
Hoosick Falls, NY	3,361	94	6.4%
North Adams, MA	12,897	96	3.7%
Adams, MA	5,689	96	3.6%
Williamstown, MA	4,565	123	23.4%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Hollister, MO	4,564	84	16.2%
Rio Communities, NM	4,566	92	7.7%
Cowichan Valley E, BC	4,562	n/a
Portola Valley, CA	4,568	342	242.3%
Humboldt, IA	4,568	89	10.9%
Williamstown, MA	4,565	123	23.4%

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 Williamstown, MA