Moving to Massachusetts from New Hampshire
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from New Hampshire to Massachusetts — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from New Hampshire to Massachusetts, you would find that Massachusetts is 10.2% more expensive than New Hampshire. A $75,000 salary in New Hampshire would need to be roughly $82,600 in Massachusetts to maintain the same lifestyle. Manchester and Boston are about 50 mi apart.
Is Massachusetts cheaper than New Hampshire?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 7.4% more
Groceries
pay 1.2% more
Transportation
pay 8.0% more
Housing
pay 14.0% more
Childcare
pay 47.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.9% 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 → $82,600
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 18% more than cities in New Hampshire.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from New Hampshire to Massachusetts.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New Hampshire performs better than Massachusetts 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 New Hampshire leads in diabetes rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
New Hampshire 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
New Hampshire performs better than Massachusetts 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
New Hampshire 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
New Hampshire generally does better on family life, though Massachusetts leads in bachelor's degree or higher.
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 New Hampshire
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Manchester | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 38°/21°F (4°/-6°C) | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 68°/47°F (20°/8°C) | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 79°/59°F (26°/15°C) | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 50°/32°F (10°/0°C) | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Manchester | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33°/16°F (0.6°/-9.1°C) | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) |
| Feb | 37°/19°F (2.7°/-7.2°C) | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) |
| Mar | 45°/27°F (7.2°/-2.7°C) | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) |
| Apr | 58°/37°F (14.2°/2.8°C) | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) |
| May | 69°/47°F (20.4°/8.6°C) | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) |
| Jun | 78°/57°F (25.3°/13.7°C) | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) |
| Jul | 82°/63°F (28.0°/17.1°C) | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) |
| Aug | 81°/61°F (27.2°/16.1°C) | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) |
| Sep | 73°/53°F (22.6°/11.4°C) | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) |
| Oct | 61°/41°F (16.1°/4.8°C) | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) |
| Nov | 50°/33°F (9.9°/0.6°C) | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) |
| Dec | 38°/22°F (3.4°/-5.3°C) | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Massachusetts than New Hampshire?
No — Massachusetts is on average about 10% more expensive than New Hampshire. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Massachusetts?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $20,650 in Massachusetts on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Massachusetts safe?
New Hampshire performs better than Massachusetts across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Massachusetts compared to New Hampshire?
Massachusetts generally does better on health & wellbeing, though New Hampshire leads in diabetes rate.
What's the weather like in Massachusetts compared to New Hampshire?
The average high temperature in Boston is 59°F, compared to 59°F in Manchester. Boston receives around 43.8 in of rainfall per year, while Manchester gets 44.6 in.
