Top Five Most Expensive State to Live, See Where Massachusetts Ranked

There is a lot to love about living in Massachusetts. Beautiful scenery, rich history, tons to do, and of course, nice people.

Where you live in Massachusetts certainly affects your everyday life as there are vast differences between the eastern part of the state, the Greater Boston area, and living in the western part of the state. Commute time, population, and of course the cost of living are some of the biggest differences. The average home price alone in The Berkshires vs Greater Boston is literally night and day, not to mention the difference in rent.

The bottom line is wherever you're living in Massachusetts, it's not cheap. While living in The Berkshires is significantly less expensive than living in let's say, Newton, compared to the rest of the United States, it's all pricey.

Forbes Magazine recently ranked the top five most expensive states to live in in 2022 and you guessed it, Massachusetts landed in that group at number three.

According to the financial publication, the top five are as follows:

1. Hawaii
2. California
3. Massachusetts
4. New Jersey
5. Connecticut

Based on data collected by Credit Karma, the study analyzed each state in 11 different, categories including various everyday living costs like transportation, groceries, and healthcare in addition to larger, monthly, and yearly expenses like rent, mortgage payments, and tax rates.

While it might hurt your wallet to live in Massachusetts, at least you don't live in Hawaii. Stunningly beautiful state with breathtaking landscapes? Sure. But you're going to pay a premium to live there. The island state is by far the most expensive state for a few reasons, but the largest factor is the state's location. The majority of things have to be imported, which gets very pricey. Combine that with sky-high real estate in the vacation destination are you're looking at a crazy high cost of living.