Moving to Delaware from Massachusetts
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Massachusetts to Delaware — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Massachusetts to Delaware, you would find that Delaware is 15.2% cheaper than Massachusetts. A $75,000 salary in Massachusetts would need to be roughly $63,600 in Delaware to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from Massachusetts to Delaware.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $63,600
To maintain the same standard of living in Delaware
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 23.1% less
Groceries
pay 11.6% less
Transportation
pay 15.6% less
Housing
pay 21.2% less
Childcare
pay 4.3% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.7% less
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
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 Delaware cost about 29% less than cities in Massachusetts.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Massachusetts and Delaware 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 better than Delaware 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 performs better than Delaware across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Delaware performs significantly 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 generally does better on infrastructure, though Delaware leads in average commute.
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
Massachusetts performs better than Delaware across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Massachusetts performs better than Delaware 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
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Boston | Dover |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) | 48°/31°F (9°/-1°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) | 75°/54°F (24°/12°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) | 84°/65°F (29°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) | 58°/40°F (15°/4°C) |
View all months
| Month | Boston | Dover |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) | 43°/27°F (6.3°/-2.7°C) |
| Feb | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) | 47°/29°F (8.3°/-1.7°C) |
| Mar | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) | 55°/36°F (12.7°/2.0°C) |
| Apr | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) | 66°/44°F (18.7°/6.8°C) |
| May | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) | 75°/54°F (23.7°/12.1°C) |
| Jun | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) | 83°/63°F (28.4°/17.4°C) |
| Jul | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) | 87°/68°F (30.6°/20.2°C) |
| Aug | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) | 85°/67°F (29.6°/19.4°C) |
| Sep | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) | 79°/60°F (26.3°/15.6°C) |
| Oct | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) | 69°/49°F (20.4°/9.3°C) |
| Nov | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) | 58°/40°F (14.7°/4.3°C) |
| Dec | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) | 47°/31°F (8.6°/-0.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Delaware than Massachusetts?
Generally yes: Delaware runs about 15% cheaper than Massachusetts on average, though it depends heavily on the city.
How much money do I need to move to Delaware?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $15,900 in Delaware for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Delaware safe?
Massachusetts performs better than Delaware across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Delaware compared to Massachusetts?
Massachusetts performs better than Delaware across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Delaware compared to Massachusetts?
The average high temperature in Dover is 66°F, compared to 59°F in Boston. Dover receives around 46.1 in of rainfall per year, while Boston gets 43.8 in.
