How much do households in the Boston, MA area spend on rent?
Data updated September 16, 2024
About $1.83K, or 33.9% of their income, in 2018–2022. This was measured by comparing median rent and median monthly income for renting households.
Showing data for
In 2018–2022, median rent was
33.9%
of median income
In 2018–2022,
$1.83K
was the median rent per month
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability.
The Boston, MA area's median rent was approximately $1.83K per month in 2018–2022. Typical monthly income among renting households was around $5.39K per month during that same period.
A typical household spent about $1.83K on rent in the Boston, MA area.
Median rent and median renter household income, 2018–2022
Dividing rent by income provides what is called a rent-to-income ratio. A higher ratio of rent-to-income indicates rent is less affordable while a lower ratio indicates greater affordability.
Subscribe to get unbiased, data-driven insights sent to your inbox weekly.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households with a rent-to-income ratio of more than 30%, that is, households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing, to be cost-burdened. Cost-burdened households may have less money for other necessities such as food, healthcare, or savings. When median monthly rent is more than 30% of median monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Boston, MA area's rent-to-income ratio ranked 3 out of 5 Massachusetts metros.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
Compared to other metro areas in Massachusetts, the Boston, MA area had the highest median rent and highest median renter-household income. Out of the five metros in the state, the Boston, MA area’s rent-to-income ratio ranked third lowest.
The large metro average rent-to-income ratio was 31.4%.
Ratio of median rent to median renter household income, 2018–2022
The Boston, MA area was a large metro. Large metros have over 1 million people. Compared to other large metros, the rent-to-income ratio in the Boston, MA area was higher than typical. The average among large metros was 31.4% in 2018–2022, 2.5 percentage points lower than in the Boston, MA area.
Renter income and rent, large metro areas (2018–2022)
| 1. | Atlanta, GA area | $4,480 |
| 2. | Baltimore, MD area | $4,588 |
| 3. | Birmingham, AL area | $3,306 |
| 4. | Boston, MA area | $5,388 |
| 5. | Buffalo, NY area | $3,131 |
| 6. | Charlotte, NC area | $4,307 |
| 7. | Cincinnati, OH area | $3,462 |
| 8. | Cleveland, OH area | $3,222 |
| 9. | Columbus, OH area | $4,100 |
| 10. | Dallas, TX area | $4,738 |
Change location to see this data for other areas
Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.
Page sources
USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
United States Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program and 2 others
