Pittsfield vs Boston leftover
Moving to Boston costs you $208 a month
$1,957/mo leftover in Boston vs $2,165 in Pittsfield after tax and rent ($208 less). −$2,496 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms. Not a cost-of-living index.
Pittsfield leftover
$2,165
a month after tax and rent
Boston leftover
$1,957
−$208 vs Pittsfield
Compare Pittsfield to another metro
Same paycheck. Try a different city next to Pittsfield.
Monthly gap
Pittsfield → Boston
$208
less / month in Pittsfield
$1,957 in Boston · $2,165 in Pittsfield · 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, 276 households moved Pittsfield → Boston (avg AGI $78,616). 248 went the other way. The whole move →
−$208 / mo
| Per month | Pittsfield | Boston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,250 | $9,053 | +$1,803 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,795 | $2,420 | +$625 |
| Take-home pay | $5,455 | $6,633 | +$1,178 |
| Rent | $1,312 | $2,549 | +$1,237 |
| Getting around | $527 | $445 | −$82 |
| Groceries | $400 | $464 | +$64 |
| Healthcare | $450 | $522 | +$72 |
| Utilities | $250 | $290 | +$40 |
| Everything else | $350 | $406 | +$56 |
| Left over | $2,165 | $1,957 | −$208 |
To break even in Boston, you'd need to earn
$112,500
Household gross, versus $87,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Pittsfield does now.
The tax difference alone
−$1,082
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 24.8% in Pittsfield, 26.7% in Boston.
More about Boston
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.
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 → Pittsfield →Questions
Is the cost of living lower in Boston than Pittsfield?
A one-bedroom is about $1,312 in Pittsfield versus $2,549 in Boston. On a one-adult, one-bedroom household, leftover is about $208 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 Pittsfield 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 Pittsfield 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.