Is Boston Good for FIRE?
Boston, MA, Cost of Living, Housing & Early Retirement Guide
This page looks at whether Boston is likely to help or hurt a financial independence plan based on housing costs, tax drag, and how much room may be left in the budget after essentials.
Housing costs in Boston
Boston can support FIRE for high earners, but it is generally not a low-cost path to early retirement because housing pressure is still significant.
The city tends to make more sense for FIRE when income is strong enough to offset the expense burden and keep the savings rate high.
As with other expensive metros, the main risk is assuming a high salary automatically creates a FIRE-friendly setup.
Can you reach FIRE in Boston?
Financial independence in Boston is possible, but the more useful question is whether the city helps or hurts the math relative to your income. A city becomes FIRE-friendly when your recurring expenses stay low enough that you can both save aggressively and retire on a smaller portfolio.
In practice, that means looking at housing first, then taxes, then how much flexibility remains in your monthly budget. Boston is not automatically good or bad for FIRE in absolute terms. It depends on whether your income is strong enough to support the city’s cost structure.
Boston is usually most relevant for high-income households comparing whether a future move could improve the cost side of the FIRE equation.
Frequently asked questions about FIRE in Boston
- Is Boston a good place to retire early?
- It depends on your income and spending pattern. The city is more favorable when housing costs are manageable relative to your take-home pay and when the rest of your recurring expenses stay under control.
- How much do I need to retire early in Boston?
- Your real FIRE number depends on your full annual spending, not housing alone. A rough first-pass approach is to estimate total yearly expenses in Boston and multiply by 25 using a 4% withdrawal rate.
- How does moving to Boston affect my FIRE timeline?
- If Boston lowers your recurring expenses relative to your current city, it can both reduce the portfolio you need and increase how much you save each month. Those two effects together can materially shorten the path to FIRE.
- What should I look at first when evaluating Boston for FIRE?
- Start with housing costs, then look at tax drag and your expected income. That gives a much more useful signal than broad rankings alone.
Compare Boston with other FIRE cities
Explore a smaller set of FIRE-focused city pages instead of a broad low-value inventory.
Model your FIRE timeline in Boston
Use the relocation calculator to estimate your post-move budget in Boston, then plug that number into the FIRE calculator to see how relocating may change your timeline.
Boston at a glance, single filer on $100,000
2026 taxes on $100,000 in Boston
| Tax on $100,000 | Boston |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $13,170 |
| Social Security and Medicare | $7,650 |
| Massachusetts income tax | $4,780 |
| City income tax | $0 |
| State payroll programs | $460 |
| Take-home pay | $73,940 |
| Share of pay paid in tax | 26.1% |
Single filer, wages only, standard deduction, no 401(k) contribution. Federal figures follow IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32; state and city rules are on the methodology page.
What is left to save in Boston at every salary
| Salary | Take-home a year | Take-home a month | After typical rent a month | Rent share of take-home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $39,845 | $3,320 | $715 | 78.5% |
| $75,000 | $57,718 | $4,810 | $2,205 | 54.2% |
| $100,000 | $73,940 | $6,162 | $3,557 | 42.3% |
| $150,000 | $105,821 | $8,818 | $6,213 | 29.5% |
| $250,000 | $170,053 | $14,171 | $11,566 | 18.4% |
Take-home is after 2026 federal, state, local and payroll tax. Rent is the typical Census figure for recent movers. Food, transportation, insurance and other costs are not subtracted.
What Boston costs compared with the U.S.
| Measure | Boston | U.S. | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall price level (U.S. = 100) | 108.3 | 100.0 | +8.3 |
| Housing price level | 148.4 | 100.0 | +48.4 |
| Utilities price level | 148.8 | 100.0 | +48.8 |
| Goods price level | 99.7 | 100.0 | -0.3 |
| Typical rent (monthly) | $2,605 | $1,411 | +$1,194 |
| Typical home value | $735,900 | $375,900 | +$360,000 |
| Median property tax paid (yearly) | $4,456 | $3,119 | +$1,337 |
| Residential electricity (cents per kWh) | 30.14 | 18.19 | +11.95 |
Price levels are BEA Regional Price Parities for the metro area (2024 Regional Price Parities (Bureau of Economic Analysis, released February 2026)); housing, utilities and goods levels are shown against the U.S. average of 100. Rent, home value and property tax are U.S. Census Bureau figures (2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Census Bureau, released December 2025)); electricity is the Massachusetts residential price, year-to-date through july 2026.
Renting and buying in Boston
| Measure | Boston |
|---|---|
| Income to rent the typical home (30% rule) | $104,200 |
| Monthly cost to own the typical home (20% down) | $4,245 |
| Income to buy the typical home (28% rule) | $181,930 |
Owning cost is the mortgage payment on the typical home with 20% down, a 30-year loan at 6.5% (the calculator's starting rate, not a quote), the city's typical property tax rate and $150 a month for insurance. HOA fees and maintenance are not included.
Who moves to and from Massachusetts
In the latest IRS migration data (2022-23), 83,296 households filed in Massachusetts after filing in another state the year before, and 98,674 did the reverse: a net loss of 15,378 households.
Where people moving to Massachusetts come from
- New York: 10,479 households
- Florida: 8,058 households
- New Hampshire: 6,594 households
- California: 6,565 households
- Connecticut: 6,467 households
- Rhode Island: 5,218 households
- New Jersey: 3,596 households
- Texas: 3,394 households
Where people leaving Massachusetts go
- Florida: 12,159 households
- New York: 11,027 households
- New Hampshire: 10,603 households
- California: 7,767 households
- Rhode Island: 6,510 households
- Connecticut: 6,006 households
- Texas: 4,218 households
- North Carolina: 3,483 households
Source: IRS Statistics of Income state-to-state migration files. The IRS publishes state totals, not city totals, and counts only people who filed a return in both years.
Where to go next
- Compare a move: see what a change of city does to rent, taxes and take-home pay.
- See the FIRE impact: enter your numbers and use the Move tab to see the change in your timeline.
- Plan it in detail: model withdrawals, taxes and Social Security year by year (Beta).
Boston questions
- How much do I keep of a $100,000 salary in Boston?
- A single filer on $100,000 keeps about $73,940 a year ($6,162 a month) in Boston after 2026 federal, state, local and payroll tax. That is 26.1% of pay paid in tax.
- Is Boston expensive?
- Overall prices in the Boston area are 8.3% higher than the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities). Typical rent is $2,605 a month, 85% higher than the national figure of $1,411.
- How much income do I need to rent or buy in Boston?
- To keep rent at 30% of income, about $104,200 a year covers the typical rent of $2,605. Owning the typical home with 20% down costs about $4,245 a month, which takes about $181,930 a year at 28% of income.
- Are people moving to Massachusetts?
- IRS migration data for 2022-23 show 83,296 households moving into Massachusetts from other states and 98,674 moving out, a net loss of 15,378 households. These are state totals, not city totals.
- How much can I save in Boston on $100,000?
- After taxes and the typical rent of $2,605, a single filer on $100,000 has about $3,557 a month left before food, transport, health care and everything else. How much of that you can save depends on those costs.
Sources and limits
Written and maintained by Relocation By Numbers. Figures were generated on 2026-10-13 from the sources below; tax rules are for tax year 2026. Full methodology
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 tax brackets and standard deduction
- IRS Publication 15 (2026): payroll tax rates
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates (Census Bureau, released December 2025))
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities (2024 Regional Price Parities (Bureau of Economic Analysis, released February 2026))
- IRS Statistics of Income, state-to-state migration data
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B
- State and city income tax rules, by state
Not included
- Itemized deductions, tax credits and dependents; the figures are for a single filer on wages.
- Neighborhood-level rent and home prices, which can differ widely from a city median.
- Moving costs, car costs, health insurance, child care, food and sales tax.