Home / States / Massachusetts vs Oregon
Massachusetts vs Oregon
Regional price parities head to head: how far the same dollar goes in Massachusetts and Oregon, with rents and goods split out. Oregon is the cheaper side. Statistics, not reviews.
Rents · U.S. = 100
-15% in OREMassachusetts rents run 19% higher
five bands of the 51-state ladder · green cheaper → red pricier · price parity
How expensive · of 51
4 places apartMassachusetts is 7th most expensive state
ranked cheapest #1 → priciest #51 · overall parity
Safety · 0–100
MAS +11 ptsMassachusetts is safer by 11 points
score 0–100 from the homicide rate · higher is safer · our score
Too close to call
Oregon is only 2% cheaper overall — 103.4 against 105.8, too small a gap to decide a move on. Where the two really part company:
- Homicide rate3.9 in Oregon against 1.8 in Massachusetts
- Electricity28.8¢ in Massachusetts against 16.3¢ in Oregon
- Coldest month−3.5°C in Massachusetts against 4.2°C in Oregon
6Grocery pricesmeasuredstate columns · Costely estimate
Food prices: Massachusetts vs Oregon
Estimated from the measured U.S. average shop price × the state's goods parity — Massachusetts 98.8, Oregon 105.3. The gap between the two columns is the same on every row, because both come from one national price through parity.
State grocery prices are estimates, not measured. Each state column is the measured U.S. average price multiplied by that state’s goods parity; grocery prices are not published for individual states. Petrol and household energy are deliberately absent here — goods parity fails on them, so they carry real per-state prices in their own block instead.
1Moving to Oregon
5What it means
$1,000 in Oregon buys what $1,023 buys in Massachusetts
because the same basket is priced 2% lower in Oregon — 103.4 against 105.8 on the price parities.
state averages · estimate
5Pay by occupationmeasured
Salary compared: Massachusetts and Oregon
Annual median wage, all industries, May 2025. Sorted by the widest gap between Massachusetts and Oregon — these are measured wages, before tax, with no adjustment for local prices.
Note: Estimates are medians for all workers in the occupation statewide, produced by a model-based method using three years of survey data and the 2018 SOC. Occupations with too few workers in a state are suppressed by the BLS and are left blank. A dash means that occupation is not published for that state. Wages are reproduced as published; the ordering and the Diff column are ours.
Scorecard
A split table: Massachusetts wins 4, Oregon wins 4. The widest gap is homicides per 100,000, 115%.
Lower wins for prices and homicides, higher for income. Lines within 2% count as level.
4cHousing and property taxmeasured
What housing costs: Massachusetts and Oregon
Medians from the American Community Survey, 2020-2024 five-year estimates. Published marks a figure reproduced as it stands; Costely marks a ratio we worked out from those figures.
A state with no income tax still has to raise money somewhere, and property tax is usually where. On the median home that is $5,992 a year in Massachusetts against $3,876 in Oregon — worth weighing against any difference in pay.
Note: Medians are for the whole state across the five years, not a current asking price. The effective property tax rate, the price-to-income ratio and the share of homes with a large electricity bill are worked out by us from the tables above. Rows marked as published are reproduced as they stand; the ratios, the difference column and the all-state average are ours.
Moving to Oregon
On price alone this is a sideways step: $1,000 in Massachusetts matches about $977 in Oregon.
Moving to Massachusetts
Price is not the reason for this move — the two levels sit within 2% of each other.
4bEnergy pricesmeasured
Electricity, gas and petrol prices: Massachusetts and Oregon
Retail prices as published. Every row carries its own mark: Published where the figure is reproduced as it stands, Costely where we converted or worked it out ourselves.
Note: Electricity and gas prices are monthly and are shown as published. Where a state has not yet reported the latest month, the most recent month it did report is used and named on the card. Petrol is published per million Btu for every state, so the price per gallon is our own conversion at the EIA factor of 5.053 million Btu per 42-gallon barrel; the EIA publishes a price per gallon only for a handful of states. Rows marked as published are reproduced as they stand; the conversion to a price per gallon, the difference column and the all-state average are our own.
At the pump
Every tank costs more on one side: petrol averages $4.06 a gallon in Oregon and $3.33 in Massachusetts.
3Climate · state capitals
Weather and climate: Massachusetts against Oregon, month by month
How warm and how wet each month is, averaged over twenty years. Measured in Boston and Salem — the capital city, not the whole state.
Pinch with two fingers to zoom · double-tap to reset.
Boston · Massachusetts Salem · Oregon
Warmest
July (22.4°) vs August (18.6°)
Coldest
January (-3.5°) vs December (4.2°)
Kinder months to visit
Jun–Sep in Boston · Jul–Sep in Salem
“Kinder months” is our own reading: a mean of 15–26 °C with moderate rain, measured at the capital.
6bSimilar statesprice parity
States priced like these
The closest states by overall price level, with the gap against each side of this pair. Every row opens a full comparison.
Neighbours are ranked by distance in the overall price parity; the percentage is the gap in that parity, our own calculation.
Everything else
All the comparisons on this page’s two sides
All comparisons with Massachusetts 50
- Massachusetts vs Alabama
- Massachusetts vs Alaska
- Massachusetts vs Arizona
- Massachusetts vs Arkansas
- Massachusetts vs California
- Massachusetts vs Colorado
- Massachusetts vs Connecticut
- Massachusetts vs Delaware
- Massachusetts vs District of Columbia
- Massachusetts vs Florida
- Massachusetts vs Georgia
- Massachusetts vs Hawaii
- Massachusetts vs Idaho
- Massachusetts vs Illinois
- Massachusetts vs Indiana
- Massachusetts vs Iowa
- Massachusetts vs Kansas
- Massachusetts vs Kentucky
- Massachusetts vs Louisiana
- Massachusetts vs Maine
- Massachusetts vs Maryland
- Massachusetts vs Michigan
- Massachusetts vs Minnesota
- Massachusetts vs Mississippi
- Massachusetts vs Missouri
- Massachusetts vs Montana
- Massachusetts vs Nebraska
- Massachusetts vs Nevada
- Massachusetts vs New Hampshire
- Massachusetts vs New Jersey
- Massachusetts vs New Mexico
- Massachusetts vs New York
- Massachusetts vs North Carolina
- Massachusetts vs North Dakota
- Massachusetts vs Ohio
- Massachusetts vs Oklahoma
- Massachusetts vs Oregon
- Massachusetts vs Pennsylvania
- Massachusetts vs Rhode Island
- Massachusetts vs South Carolina
- Massachusetts vs South Dakota
- Massachusetts vs Tennessee
- Massachusetts vs Texas
- Massachusetts vs Utah
- Massachusetts vs Vermont
- Massachusetts vs Virginia
- Massachusetts vs Washington
- Massachusetts vs West Virginia
- Massachusetts vs Wisconsin
- Massachusetts vs Wyoming
All comparisons with Oregon 50
- Oregon vs Alabama
- Oregon vs Alaska
- Oregon vs Arizona
- Oregon vs Arkansas
- Oregon vs California
- Oregon vs Colorado
- Oregon vs Connecticut
- Oregon vs Delaware
- Oregon vs District of Columbia
- Oregon vs Florida
- Oregon vs Georgia
- Oregon vs Hawaii
- Oregon vs Idaho
- Oregon vs Illinois
- Oregon vs Indiana
- Oregon vs Iowa
- Oregon vs Kansas
- Oregon vs Kentucky
- Oregon vs Louisiana
- Oregon vs Maine
- Oregon vs Maryland
- Oregon vs Massachusetts
- Oregon vs Michigan
- Oregon vs Minnesota
- Oregon vs Mississippi
- Oregon vs Missouri
- Oregon vs Montana
- Oregon vs Nebraska
- Oregon vs Nevada
- Oregon vs New Hampshire
- Oregon vs New Jersey
- Oregon vs New Mexico
- Oregon vs New York
- Oregon vs North Carolina
- Oregon vs North Dakota
- Oregon vs Ohio
- Oregon vs Oklahoma
- Oregon vs Pennsylvania
- Oregon vs Rhode Island
- Oregon vs South Carolina
- Oregon vs South Dakota
- Oregon vs Tennessee
- Oregon vs Texas
- Oregon vs Utah
- Oregon vs Vermont
- Oregon vs Virginia
- Oregon vs Washington
- Oregon vs West Virginia
- Oregon vs Wisconsin
- Oregon vs Wyoming
8FAQ
Is Massachusetts cheaper than Oregon?
Is electricity cheaper in Massachusetts or Oregon?
Which has the lower homicide rate, Massachusetts or Oregon?
Which has milder winters, Massachusetts or Oregon?
What salary in Oregon matches $75,000 a year in Massachusetts?
10bPlan your move
Which one suits you?
Fill in your situation — we score this pair against your numbers, then check the other 81 countries for a better fit.
Guidance from published statistics, not immigration or financial advice — see the disclaimer.
7Sources & licences
Every figure, traceable
Our calculations, not official figures.
Sources: BEA Regional Price Parities · BLS Current Employment Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Energy Information Administration · BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · BLS Average Price Data · FBI Crime Data Explorer · NASA POWER · U.S. Energy Information Administration · release v2026-08
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · Regional Price Parities by state, table SARPP · reference year 2024, released February 2026 · bea.gov · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Parities are reproduced as published, with the U.S. average set to 100 by the source itself. Gaps, rankings and the “cheaper side” wording are Costely calculations. Note: the BEA does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Average Price Data, Consumer Price Index programme, U.S. city average · retrieved 15 August 2026 via the BLS Public Data API · bls.gov/cpi · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. The U.S. column reproduces the measured price as published. Note: the BLS does not publish grocery prices by state; the state columns are Costely estimates — the national price multiplied by the state's BEA goods parity — and are labelled as such on the page. Fuel and household energy are excluded from that method deliberately, because goods parity does not describe them. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. The BLS emblem is not used and the BLS does not endorse this site.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. Rights holder: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey, 5-year estimates, 2020-2024 five-year estimates, retrieved 17 August 2026 via the Census Bureau Data API · census.gov/data/developers · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Tables: B25064 median gross rent; B25077 median value of owner-occupied homes; B25103 median real estate taxes paid; B19013 median household income; B25088 median selected monthly owner costs; B25071 median gross rent as a share of household income; B25132 monthly electricity costs. Figures are reproduced as published and are never altered while still being attributed to the Census Bureau; the effective tax rate, the price-to-income ratio, the share of homes with a large electricity bill, the difference column and the all-state average are Costely calculations. Note: Medians are for the whole state across the five years, not a current asking price. The effective property tax rate, the price-to-income ratio and the share of homes with a large electricity bill are worked out by us from the tables above. No attempt is made to identify any individual respondent, and no Census media assets are used.
Rights holder: U.S. Energy Information Administration · residential electricity, residential natural gas and motor gasoline prices, published August 2026, retrieved 15 August 2026 via the EIA API v2 · series: electricity — Electric Power Monthly, retail sales of electricity, residential sector, cents per kilowatt-hour; natural gas — Natural Gas Monthly, price of natural gas delivered to residential consumers, dollars per thousand cubic feet; petrol — State Energy Data System, motor gasoline price in the transportation sector, dollars per million Btu · eia.gov/opendata · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially, with the EIA cited as the source and the publication date given. Electricity and natural gas are reproduced as published. Note: Electricity and gas prices are monthly and are shown as published. Where a state has not yet reported the latest month, the most recent month it did report is used and named on the card. Petrol is published per million Btu for every state, so the price per gallon is our own conversion at the EIA factor of 5.053 million Btu per 42-gallon barrel; the EIA publishes a price per gallon only for a handful of states. The difference column and the all-state average are Costely calculations and are not EIA publications. The EIA emblem is trademarked and is not used here, and nothing on this site implies EIA endorsement or approval.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — annual median wage, all industries, statewide, series datatype 13 · May 2025, retrieved 15 August 2026 via the BLS Public Data API · bls.gov/oes · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially, with the BLS cited as the source. Wages are reproduced as published; the ordering of rows and the difference column are Costely calculations. Note: these are medians for all workers in an occupation across a whole state, before tax and before any adjustment for local prices. Estimates are medians for all workers in the occupation statewide, produced by a model-based method using three years of survey data and the 2018 SOC. Occupations with too few workers in a state are suppressed by the BLS and are left blank. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. The BLS emblem is not used and the BLS does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages — average weekly wage, private ownership, aggregation level 51 statewide · 2025 Q4, retrieved 20 August 2026 via the QCEW open data files · bls.gov/cew · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Weekly wages are reproduced as published; monthly figures and the price adjustment are Costely calculations. Note: these are averages, not medians, and cover only employment covered by unemployment insurance. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. The BLS emblem is not used and the BLS does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Energy Information Administration (August 2026) · motor gasoline, residential electricity and residential natural gas by state · retrieved 15 August 2026 · eia.gov · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Prices are reproduced as published; the comparison against the average across states is a Costely calculation. Note: the EIA logo is a registered trademark and is not used here; the EIA does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Current Employment Statistics, State and Metro Area — average hourly earnings and average weekly hours, total private · series SMU..000000500000003 and SMU..000000500000002 · June 2026, retrieved 13 August 2026 via the BLS Public Data API · bls.gov/sae · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Monthly totals, the price-adjusted column and the year-on-year change are Costely calculations. BLS.gov cannot vouch for data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov. Note: the BLS emblem is not used and the BLS does not endorse this site.
Rights holder: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Local Area Unemployment Statistics · series LAUST..0000000000003, seasonally adjusted · June 2026, retrieved 13 August 2026 · bls.gov/lau · public domain. Rates are reproduced as published; the comparison between states is ours. Note: the most recent months are preliminary and revised later by the BLS.
Rights holder: NASA Langley Research Center · POWER Project, MERRA-2 monthly climatology, T2M and PRECTOTCORR · averaging period January 2001 – December 2020 · retrieved 13 August 2026 · power.larc.nasa.gov · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. Each figure is the model grid cell containing the state capital, reproduced as published. Note: a state capital is not the whole state, and the “kinder months to visit” band is a Costely reading, not a NASA recommendation.
Rights holder: Federal Bureau of Investigation · Crime Data Explorer, Uniform Crime Reporting — summarized homicide offence rate per 100,000 population · reference year 2024 (2022 where a state has not yet reported a full year) · retrieved 14 August 2026 · cde.ucr.cjis.gov · work of the U.S. Government, public domain — free to reuse, including commercially. The 0–100 score is a Costely transformation, clamp(105 − 20·ln(1 + rate), 0, 100), the same formula we apply to countries. Note: reporting to the FBI is voluntary, so agency coverage varies by state and year; the score measures homicide only and is not an official safety rating. The FBI does not endorse this site.