Moving to Massachusetts from Pennsylvania
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts, you would find that Massachusetts is 20.2% more expensive than Pennsylvania. A $75,000 salary in Pennsylvania would need to be roughly $90,200 in Massachusetts to maintain the same lifestyle. Philadelphia and Boston are about 270 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to Massachusetts? Get a shortlist of towns in Massachusetts that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is Massachusetts cheaper than Pennsylvania?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 14.2% more
Groceries
pay 10.7% more
Transportation
pay 1.5% more
Housing
pay 49.0% more
Childcare
pay 2.4% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.5% 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 → $90,200
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 31% more than cities in Pennsylvania.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania generally does better on safety, though Massachusetts leads in property crime rate.
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 significantly better than Pennsylvania across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania generally does better on infrastructure, though Massachusetts leads in internet access.
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 generally does better on employment & economy, though Pennsylvania leads in unemployment rate.
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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Philadelphia | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 46°/29°F (8°/-2°C) | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 74°/54°F (23°/12°C) | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 83°/66°F (29°/19°C) | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 56°/39°F (13°/4°C) | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Philadelphia | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40°/26°F (4.6°/-3.6°C) | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) |
| Feb | 44°/28°F (6.6°/-2.4°C) | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) |
| Mar | 53°/34°F (11.5°/1.3°C) | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) |
| Apr | 64°/44°F (17.7°/6.7°C) | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) |
| May | 74°/54°F (23.2°/12.2°C) | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) |
| Jun | 83°/64°F (28.2°/17.7°C) | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) |
| Jul | 87°/69°F (30.6°/20.7°C) | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) |
| Aug | 85°/68°F (29.6°/19.9°C) | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) |
| Sep | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) |
| Oct | 67°/48°F (19.2°/9.1°C) | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) |
| Nov | 56°/39°F (13.3°/4.0°C) | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) |
| Dec | 45°/30°F (7.1°/-1.1°C) | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Massachusetts than Pennsylvania?
Day-to-day costs in Massachusetts run about 20% higher than Pennsylvania 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 $22,550 in Massachusetts for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Massachusetts safe?
Pennsylvania generally does better on safety, though Massachusetts leads in property crime rate.
How is healthcare in Massachusetts compared to Pennsylvania?
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Pennsylvania across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Massachusetts compared to Pennsylvania?
The average high temperature in Boston is 59°F, compared to 65°F in Philadelphia. Boston receives around 43.8 in of rainfall per year, while Philadelphia gets 41.5 in.
