COMPARE COST OF LIVING

Essex County, MA→Kern County, CA

Equivalent salary in Kern County, CA

$39,030

-21.94% lower

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Essex County, MA to Kern County, CA.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary/TLDR:

Overall your move from Essex County, MA → Kern County, CA can dramatically lower your cost of living by a large margin, around 21.94% ($12,985). Should your salary stay at or similar range this could feel like getting a tax-free pay raise of the same amount Moving can lead to meaningful savings especially in Housing, Food, Other Costs, and Taxes According to the Economic Policy Institute’s 2025 Family Budget data, Essex County, MA's Housing costs are 38.17% higher ($18,631 vs. $11,520), driving a large part of the cost difference. Movers could potentially save $7,111 in annual expenses. Transport and Healthcare costs for Kern County, CA , however, rise slightly.

Since Housing is one of the biggest drivers of living costs, this gap alone can noticeably change how the move feels month to month. Because housing is usually the largest line item in a budget, this gap alone can make the move feel noticeably cheaper or more expensive.

Below we break down the key differences driving this gap.

What changed the most?

following categories which are the highest average cost to your new location and the lowest average cost from your current location.

Biggest Cost Change

Highest new COST when moving to Kern County, CA

Average Cost:

$12,609 per year

TRANSPORT costs are highest in Kern County, CA.

Biggest Save Change

Highest money SAVE when moving to Kern County, CA

Average Cost:

$11,520 per year

HOUSING costs are lowest in Kern County, CA.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	-38.17% lower
Essex County, MA Kern County, CA Average Cost $18631.00 $11520.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The data represented shows the rental cost at the 40th percentile at a given area for privately owned, rental unit. Studio apartments were paired with 1 adult families, 1 Bedroom apartments with 2 Adult families, and 2 bedroom apartments for families with 1 or 2 children.
Food	-14.81% lower
Essex County, MA Kern County, CA Average Cost $4727.00 $4027.00 INFO: Food cost are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plan. Numbers are normalized to each area using weights from Feeding America and the Meal Gap data. This number assumes most food is bought at a local grocery store and then prepared at home.
Transport	6.96% higher
Essex County, MA Kern County, CA Average Cost $12609.00 $13486.00 INFO: Transportation costs are a combination of auto ownership, auto use, and public transit. Data is collected from the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).
Healthcare	4.30% higher
Essex County, MA Kern County, CA Average Cost $4726.00 $4929.00 INFO: Health care expenses come from an average of insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The data assumes families purchase the lowest cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family foundation and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	-33.44% lower
Essex County, MA Kern County, CA Average Cost $7859.00 $5231.00 INFO: This cost is calculated through the average spending of categories deemed necessary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. These include apparel, personal care, household supplies, reading materials, and school supplies.
Taxes	-34.09% lower
Essex County, MA Kern County, CA Average Cost $10638.00 $7012.00 INFO: Taxes are calculated from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The number weighs in personal income tax, state income tax, federal Social Security, and Medicare taxes.

In your new location your total average costs would be $46205.00 compared to your previous average costs of $59190.00.

The lower price could be attributed to different factors. For example, in larger percentage differences, Large gaps often reflect location metropolitan vs. non-metropolitan cost structures.

In this case Kern County, CA and Essex County, MA are both metropolitan locations.

Breakdown your annual expenses to see how far your current budget when moving to a several locations. Use our map to visually

Use the Cost of Living Map