Moving to Massachusetts from Maryland
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Maryland to Massachusetts — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Maryland to Massachusetts, you would find that Massachusetts is 9.1% more expensive than Maryland. A $75,000 salary in Maryland would need to be roughly $81,800 in Massachusetts to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Boston averages 59°F vs 70°F in Baltimore, making it significantly cooler. Baltimore and Boston are about 360 mi apart.
Is Massachusetts cheaper than Maryland?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 10.6% more
Groceries
pay 7.3% more
Transportation
pay 0.1% less
Housing
pay 22.2% more
Childcare
pay 2.7% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.6% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in Massachusetts?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $81,800
To maintain the same standard of living in Massachusetts
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in Massachusetts cost about 16% more than cities in Maryland.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Maryland and Massachusetts stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Maryland across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Massachusetts generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Maryland leads in adult smoking rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Maryland performs better than Massachusetts across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Maryland across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Maryland generally does better on employment & economy, though Massachusetts leads in gdp per capita.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Maryland across all family life metrics.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in Massachusetts vs Maryland
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Baltimore | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 51°/35°F (11°/2°C) | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/61°F (26°/16°C) | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 88°/71°F (31°/22°C) | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 60°/44°F (16°/7°C) | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Baltimore | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46°/32°F (8.0°/-0.1°C) | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) |
| Feb | 49°/34°F (9.5°/1.2°C) | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) |
| Mar | 59°/40°F (14.8°/4.5°C) | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) |
| Apr | 69°/51°F (20.8°/10.4°C) | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) |
| May | 79°/61°F (26.3°/16.1°C) | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) |
| Jun | 89°/71°F (31.6°/21.5°C) | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) |
| Jul | 92°/75°F (33.4°/23.9°C) | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) |
| Aug | 90°/73°F (32.2°/22.8°C) | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) |
| Sep | 83°/65°F (28.1°/18.5°C) | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) |
| Oct | 71°/54°F (21.9°/12.3°C) | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) |
| Nov | 60°/44°F (15.8°/6.4°C) | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) |
| Dec | 50°/35°F (9.8°/1.6°C) | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Massachusetts than Maryland?
Day-to-day costs in Massachusetts run about 9% higher than Maryland on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Massachusetts?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $20,450 in Massachusetts for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Massachusetts safe?
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Maryland across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Massachusetts compared to Maryland?
Massachusetts generally does better on health & wellbeing, though Maryland leads in adult smoking rate.
What's the weather like in Massachusetts compared to Maryland?
The average high temperature in Boston is 59°F, compared to 70°F in Baltimore. Boston receives around 43.8 in of rainfall per year, while Baltimore gets 42.4 in.
