Amherst Town vs Worcester leftover
You'd keep $748 more a month in Worcester
$2,436/mo leftover in Worcester vs $1,688 in Amherst Town after tax and rent ($748 more). +$8,976 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Amherst Town leftover
$1,688
a month after tax and rent
Worcester leftover
$2,436
+$748 vs Amherst Town
Compare Amherst Town to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Amherst Town.
Monthly gap
Amherst Town → Worcester
$748
more / month in Worcester
$2,436 in Worcester · $1,688 in Amherst Town · One adult, renting a 1-bedroom
Home
Only when you tap. We match the nearest metro and don't keep the coordinates.
Destination
In 2022-2023, 223 households moved Amherst Town → Worcester (avg AGI $62,794). 268 went the other way. The whole move →
+$748 / mo
| Per month | Amherst Town | Worcester | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $6,625 | $8,322 | +$1,697 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,578 | $2,166 | +$588 |
| Take-home pay | $5,047 | $6,156 | +$1,109 |
| Rent | $1,453 | $1,745 | +$292 |
| Getting around | $455 | $524 | +$69 |
| Groceries | $400 | $400 | $0 |
| Healthcare | $450 | $450 | $0 |
| Utilities | $250 | $250 | $0 |
| Everything else | $350 | $350 | $0 |
| Left over | $1,688 | $2,436 | +$748 |
To break even in Worcester, you'd need to earn
$86,000
Household gross, versus $79,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Amherst Town does now.
The tax difference alone
−$1,018
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.8% in Amherst Town, 26.0% in Worcester.
More about Worcester
Amherst Town, MA in full
A flat 5% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom estimated asking rent of $1,730 and 185 sunny days; commutes average 24 minutes.
Worcester, MA in full
A flat 5% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $2,077 and 186 sunny days; commutes average 30 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Worcester on Worcester wages.
Worcester → Amherst Town →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Worcester than Amherst Town?
A one-bedroom is about $1,453 in Amherst Town versus $1,745 in Worcester. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $748 a month higher in Worcester. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Worcester have state income tax?
Worcester is in Massachusetts, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Amherst Town to Worcester?
Take-home pay is recalculated under Massachusetts tax, rent is priced at the same bedroom count, and leftover is the gap. The from-to page also lists IRS households that already made the move, when that data exists.
Leftover is take-home after federal, state and city wage tax, minus asking rent at the bedroom count you set, minus a modelled month of groceries, utilities, healthcare, transport and childcare. It is not a cost-of-living index and not a moving quote. The dollar gap between Amherst Town and Worcester moves when you change the job, remote versus local pay, or bedrooms. How the math works · Leftover vs a COL index · Why a cheaper COL% can still lose leftover.
Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.