What does the Middlesex County, MA vs Bronx County, NY comparison show?

It compares estimated living costs by category, including housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, other necessities, taxes, and income context.

Can I change the salary and family type?

Yes. The comparison calculator supports salary and family type inputs so you can model costs for different households.

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Middlesex County, MA vs Bronx County, NY: Cost of Living Difference

Name: WatchPennies cost of living dataset
Creator: WatchPennies

Is it cheaper?

Bronx County, NY is cheaper than Middlesex County, MA.

Moving to Bronx County, NY is estimated to save $11,984 per year.

Cheaper County

Bronx County, NYSave about $11,984 per year.

Salary needed

$50,000 in Middlesex County, MA is about $42,385 in Bronx County, NY.

Biggest drivers

Healthcare increases by $4,036 per year. Transport saves $6,168 per year.

Housing: $4,117 lower in Bronx County, NY

Taxes: $3,731 lower in Bronx County, NY

Childcare: about the same in both counties

Healthcare: $4,036 higher in Bronx County, NY

Food: $554 lower in Bronx County, NY

Transport: $6,168 lower in Bronx County, NY

Middlesex County, MA→Bronx County, NY

Equivalent salary in Bronx County, NY

$42,385

-15.23% lower

Current salary: $50,000

Household: 1 adult · 0 children

Median Income in Middlesex County, MA: $160,640

Median Income in Bronx County, NY: $59,322

Living Index in Middlesex County, MA 48.98%

Living Index in Bronx County, NY 112.43%

This estimate matches your purchasing power (equivalent salary) when moving from Middlesex County, MA to Bronx County, NY.

* Living index is estimated as (estimated total cost / area median income) * 100. A living index above 100% means modeled costs exceed median income.

Cost of Living Breakdown by Category

Summary

Moving from Middlesex County, MA to Bronx County, NY is estimated to save $11,984 per year. A $50,000 salary in Middlesex County, MA would have similar purchasing power to about $42,385 in Bronx County, NY. The largest savings come from transport and housing.

This is a 15.23% decrease in modeled annual costs. Transport is $6,168 per year lower (48.96%); Housing is $4,117 per year lower (15.31%).

Below we break down the annual categories behind the difference using Economic Policy Institute 2026 Family Budget data.

What changed the most?

The following cards show the annual category differences that most affect the move to Bronx County, NY.

Biggest Cost

Largest annual cost increase when moving to Bronx County, NY

Annual Increase:

$4,036 per year

HEALTHCARE has the largest annual increase when moving to Bronx County, NY.

Biggest Savings

Largest annual savings when moving to Bronx County, NY

Annual Savings:

$6,168 per year

TRANSPORT has the largest annual savings when moving to Bronx County, NY.

Breakdown of price percentages per category.

Numbers are average costs per section.

Category	Difference
Housing	-15.31% lower
Middlesex County, MA Bronx County, NY Average Cost $26884.00 $22767.00 INFO: Housing costs are based on Department of Housing and Urban Development data. The estimate uses 40th percentile rent for privately owned rental units in each area. Studio apartments are paired with one-adult households, one-bedroom apartments with two-adult households, and two-bedroom apartments with households that have children.
Food	-10.96% lower
Middlesex County, MA Bronx County, NY Average Cost $5054.00 $4500.00 INFO: Food costs are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food plans. Numbers are normalized to each area using Feeding America and Meal Gap data. This estimate assumes most food is bought at local grocery stores and prepared at home.
Transport	-48.96% lower
Middlesex County, MA Bronx County, NY Average Cost $12598.00 $6430.00 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	81.44% higher
Middlesex County, MA Bronx County, NY Average Cost $4956.00 $8992.00 INFO: Healthcare expenses come from average insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The estimate assumes families purchase the lowest-cost available insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. Data comes from Kaiser Family Foundation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Other Costs	-14.62% lower
Middlesex County, MA Bronx County, NY Average Cost $9916.00 $8466.00 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.
Childcare	0.00% higher
Middlesex County, MA Bronx County, NY Average Cost $0.00 $0.00 INFO: Childcare expenses are based on combined costs for center-based care and family-based care for 4-year-olds and school-aged children. For households with one child, the estimate assumes the child is 4 years old. For households with two children, the estimate assumes the second child is 8 years old.
Taxes	-19.36% lower
Middlesex County, MA Bronx County, NY Average Cost $19273.00 $15542.00 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 Bronx County, NY, modeled annual costs are $66,697 compared with $78,681 in Middlesex County, MA.

Overall, annual costs are lower in Bronx County, NY. The category breakdown above shows where the move creates the most room in the budget.

In this case Bronx County, NY and Middlesex County, MA are both metropolitan locations.

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