Barnstable Town vs Boston leftover
Moving to Boston costs you $87 a month
$1,960/mo leftover in Boston vs $2,047 in Barnstable Town after tax and rent ($87 less). −$1,044 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Barnstable Town leftover
$2,047
a month after tax and rent
Boston leftover
$1,960
−$87 vs Barnstable Town
Compare Barnstable Town to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Barnstable Town.
Monthly gap
Barnstable Town → Boston
$87
less / month in Barnstable Town
$1,960 in Boston · $2,047 in Barnstable 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, 2,227 households moved Barnstable Town → Boston (avg AGI $108,580). 2,397 went the other way. The whole move →
−$87 / mo
| Per month | Barnstable Town | Boston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,042 | $9,057 | +$1,015 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,069 | $2,421 | +$352 |
| Take-home pay | $5,972 | $6,636 | +$663 |
| Rent | $1,938 | $2,549 | +$611 |
| Getting around | $535 | $445 | −$90 |
| Groceries | $400 | $464 | +$64 |
| Healthcare | $450 | $522 | +$72 |
| Utilities | $250 | $290 | +$40 |
| Everything else | $350 | $406 | +$56 |
| Left over | $2,047 | $1,960 | −$87 |
To break even in Boston, you'd need to earn
$110,500
Household gross, versus $96,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Barnstable Town does now.
The tax difference alone
−$609
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 25.7% in Barnstable Town, 26.7% in Boston.
More about Boston
Barnstable Town, MA in full
A flat 5% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $2,307 and 181 sunny days; commutes average 25 minutes.
Boston, MA in full
Great pay in medicine and research, brutal winters, tight housing stock.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Boston on Boston wages.
Boston → Barnstable Town →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Boston than Barnstable Town?
A one-bedroom is about $1,938 in Barnstable Town versus $2,549 in Boston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $87 a month lower in Boston. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Boston have state income tax?
Boston is in Massachusetts, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Barnstable Town to Boston?
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 Barnstable Town and Boston 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.