Boston vs Pittsfield leftover
You'd keep $209 more a month in Pittsfield
$2,159/mo leftover in Pittsfield vs $1,950 in Boston after tax and rent ($209 more). +$2,508 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Boston leftover
$1,950
a month after tax and rent
Pittsfield leftover
$2,159
+$209 vs Boston
Compare Boston to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Boston.
Monthly gap
Boston → Pittsfield
$209
more / month in Pittsfield
$2,159 in Pittsfield · $1,950 in Boston · 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, 248 households moved Boston → Pittsfield (avg AGI $116,589). 276 went the other way. The whole move →
+$209 / mo
| Per month | Boston | Pittsfield | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $9,042 | $7,241 | −$1,800 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,416 | $1,792 | −$624 |
| Take-home pay | $6,626 | $5,449 | −$1,177 |
| Rent | $2,549 | $1,312 | −$1,237 |
| Getting around | $445 | $527 | +$82 |
| Groceries | $464 | $400 | −$64 |
| Healthcare | $522 | $450 | −$72 |
| Utilities | $290 | $250 | −$40 |
| Everything else | $406 | $350 | −$56 |
| Left over | $1,950 | $2,159 | +$209 |
To break even in Pittsfield, you'd need to earn
$83,000
Household gross, versus $108,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Boston does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,080
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.7% in Boston, 24.7% in Pittsfield.
More about Pittsfield
Boston, MA in full
Great pay in medicine and research, brutal winters, tight housing stock.
Pittsfield, MA in full
A flat 5% state income tax, a median 2-bedroom asking rent of $1,562 and 184 sunny days; commutes average 21 minutes.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from Pittsfield on Pittsfield wages.
Pittsfield → Boston →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Pittsfield than Boston?
A one-bedroom is about $2,549 in Boston versus $1,312 in Pittsfield. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $209 a month higher in Pittsfield. Change the job or household on the comparison to see your number.
Does Pittsfield have state income tax?
Pittsfield is in Massachusetts, which taxes wage income.
What changes if you move from Boston to Pittsfield?
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 Boston and Pittsfield 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.