Providence, RI → Boston, MA
Moving to Boston costs you $190 a month
−$2,280 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
In 2022-2023, 6,739 households moved Providence → Boston (avg AGI $79,115). 9,092 went the other way. The whole move →
| Per month | Providence | Boston | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $7,625 | $9,026 | +$1,401 |
| Income and payroll tax | $1,816 | $2,410 | +$594 |
| Take-home pay | $5,809 | $6,615 | +$806 |
| Rent | $1,751 | $2,619 | +$868 |
| Getting around | $491 | $445 | −$46 |
| Groceries | $416 | $464 | +$48 |
| Healthcare | $468 | $522 | +$54 |
| Utilities | $260 | $290 | +$30 |
| Everything else | $364 | $406 | +$42 |
| Left over | $2,059 | $1,869 | −$190 |
To break even in Boston, you'd need to earn
$112,000
Household gross, versus $91,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Providence does now.
The tax difference alone
−$2,149
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 23.8% in Providence, 26.7% in Boston.
More about Boston
Providence, RI in full
Boston-adjacent culture at a meaningful discount, with New England property taxes.
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 → Providence →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.