Moving to Massachusetts from Wisconsin
What to Expect
Everything you need to know before relocating from Wisconsin to Massachusetts — costs, safety, healthcare, and practical first steps.
If you moved from Wisconsin to Massachusetts, you would find that Massachusetts is 35.1% more expensive than Wisconsin. A $75,000 salary in Wisconsin would need to be roughly $101,000 in Massachusetts to maintain the same lifestyle. Milwaukee and Boston are about 860 mi apart.
Is Massachusetts cheaper than Wisconsin?
Where you'll feel the difference day-to-day
Restaurants
pay 19.4% more
Groceries
pay 25.5% more
Transportation
pay 16.0% more
Housing
pay 69.6% more
Childcare
pay 28.0% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 19.0% 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 → $101,000
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 Wisconsin.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
Key indicators for anyone considering a move from Wisconsin to Massachusetts.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
Wisconsin 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
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Milwaukee | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 35°/21°F (1°/-6°C) | 40°/26°F (4°/-3°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 65°/47°F (18°/8°C) | 66°/50°F (19°/10°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 76°/61°F (25°/16°C) | 78°/62°F (25°/17°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 46°/32°F (8°/0°C) | 51°/38°F (11°/3°C) |
View all months
| Month | Milwaukee | Boston |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29°/16°F (-1.7°/-9.1°C) | 36°/22°F (2.1°/-5.4°C) |
| Feb | 33°/19°F (0.3°/-7.1°C) | 39°/25°F (3.7°/-4.1°C) |
| Mar | 42°/28°F (5.8°/-2.4°C) | 45°/31°F (7.4°/-0.5°C) |
| Apr | 54°/37°F (12.1°/2.9°C) | 56°/41°F (13.1°/4.8°C) |
| May | 65°/47°F (18.3°/8.1°C) | 66°/50°F (18.9°/9.9°C) |
| Jun | 75°/57°F (24.1°/13.9°C) | 76°/60°F (24.4°/15.3°C) |
| Jul | 80°/64°F (26.7°/17.5°C) | 81°/65°F (27.4°/18.6°C) |
| Aug | 78°/63°F (25.8°/17.2°C) | 80°/65°F (26.4°/18.1°C) |
| Sep | 71°/55°F (21.8°/12.7°C) | 72°/57°F (22.4°/14.1°C) |
| Oct | 59°/43°F (15.2°/6.2°C) | 61°/47°F (16.3°/8.1°C) |
| Nov | 46°/32°F (7.8°/0.0°C) | 51°/38°F (10.8°/3.3°C) |
| Dec | 33°/20°F (0.4°/-6.6°C) | 41°/28°F (5.1°/-2.1°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Massachusetts than Wisconsin?
No — Massachusetts is on average about 35% more expensive than Wisconsin. City-level variation matters.
How much money do I need to move to Massachusetts?
Plan for at least 3 months of living expenses — roughly $25,250 in Massachusetts on a $75,000 comparable salary — plus one-off moving costs (movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit).
Is Massachusetts safe?
Wisconsin generally does better on safety, though Massachusetts leads in property crime rate.
How is healthcare in Massachusetts compared to Wisconsin?
Massachusetts performs significantly better than Wisconsin across all health & wellbeing metrics.
What's the weather like in Massachusetts compared to Wisconsin?
The average high temperature in Boston is 59°F, compared to 55°F in Milwaukee. Boston receives around 43.8 in of rainfall per year, while Milwaukee gets 34.8 in.
