How much do households in Massachusetts spend on rent?
Updated annually
About $1,848, or 34.9% of their income, in 2024. This is measured by comparing median, or average, rent and median monthly income for renting households.
$1.85K
median monthly rent in Massachusetts (2024)
34.9%
average share of income spent on rent in Massachusetts (2024)
Comparing rent to renter income provides one measure of rental affordability. 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 it’s more affordable.
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 average monthly income, it means a typical household would meet the definition of housing cost-burdened.
Massachusetts’s rent-to-income ratio was higher than the US overall in 2024.
Ratio of median gross rent to median renter household income
The national rent-to-income ratio reached a high of 33.8% in 2011 following the Great Recession. In Massachusetts, the rent-to-income ratio reached 35.9% that year. Most recently, in 2024, Massachusetts’s rent-to-income ratio was 34.9%, 2 percentage points higher than the national rate.
Which Massachusetts metros have the most and least affordable rent?
Across metro areas, the average rent-to-income ratio was 30.9% in 2019–2023.
Highlighting metro areas where at least one primary county is in Massachusetts
In 2019–2023, the average rent-to-income ratio across metro areas was 30.9%. Metro areas are made up of economically interconnected counties that include at least one urban area. A single metro area can include multiple cities and cross state lines. The metro areas with the highest and lowest ratios were the Ponce, PR area at 52.9% (highest) and the Sheboygan, WI area, at 20.7% (lowest). In Massachusetts, the highest and lowest were the Barnstable Town, MA area at 40.4% and the Providence, RI area at 31.6%.
During that period, the Boston, MA area had the highest median rent at $1,940 per month and highest median monthly income at $5,686 out of seven Massachusetts metro areas. It’s rent-to-income ratio was fourth highest in Massachusetts.
Renter income and rent, Massachusetts metro areas (2019–2023)
Metro areas where at least one of the primary counties is within Massachusetts
| 1. | Boston, MA area | $5,686 |
| 2. | Worcester, MA area | $4,154 |
| 3. | Barnstable Town, MA area | $3,946 |
| 4. | Providence, RI area | $3,908 |
| 5. | Amherst Town, MA area | $3,810 |
| 6. | Pittsfield, MA area | $3,223 |
| 7. | Springfield, MA area | $3,038 |
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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.
