Moving from Oregon to Massachusetts
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is Oregon and Massachusetts, side by side.
Moving to Massachusetts costs about
+$170/mo
more than Oregon each month, renting
Worth knowing
Utilities cost 42% more in Massachusetts
Power, gas and water run about $184 a month more in Massachusetts than in Oregon. It is the cost people forget to check, and over a year it is roughly $2,206.
Oregon vs Massachusetts at a glance
| Oregon | Massachusetts | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $477,600 | $562,100 |
| Median rent | $1,525/mo | $1,762/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 9.90% | Flat 5.00% |
| Property tax rate | 0.81% | 1.07% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 105 | 99 |
| Utilities | 107 | 152 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | OR | MA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,525 | $1,762 | +$237 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $537 | $315 | -$222 |
| Local income tax (state average) | $12 | None | -$12 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $0 | $100 | +$100 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,930 | $1,812 | -$118 |
| Utilities | $437 | $621 | +$184 |
| Total | +$170 | ||
What the move itself costs
$4,600 to $9,600
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $1,150 to $1,600, against roughly $1,000 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 6-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Portland is not Oregon-average and Boston is not Massachusetts-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.