Cost Of Living in Essex, MA

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Essex	Massachusetts	National
Cost of living	152	133	100
Goods & Services	122	122	100
Groceries	105	105	100
Health care	113	113	100
Housing	228	165	100
Transportation	118	118	100
Utilities	134	134	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in Essex is 14% higher than the Massachusetts average
The cost of living in Essex is 52% higher than the national average
Essex housing is 128% higher than the national average
Massachusetts general sales tax is 22% higher than the national average
Massachusetts state income tax is 93% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$137,321	$11,443	$3,204	$4,120
Renters	$20,208	$1,684	$471	$606

Massachusetts Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Massachusetts	6.25%	6.25%

Massachusetts Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Massachusetts	5%	9%

Goods & Services

Item	Essex	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$43.72	$24.26	80.2%
Beauty Salon	$65.56	$45.56	43.9%
Toothpaste	$3.53	$3.70	4.7%
Shampoo	$1.49	$1.28	16.4%
Movie	$15.49	$12.13	27.6%
Bowling	$29.33	$18.00	63.0%

Groceries

Item	Essex	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.48	$5.84	6.2%
Fried Chicken	$1.45	$1.57	8.0%
Milk	$4.76	$4.67	1.9%
Potatoes	$4.99	$4.93	1.1%
Pizza	$12.52	$12.09	3.6%
Beer	$10.21	$10.41	1.9%

Health Care

Item	Essex	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$123.17	$125.68	2.0%
Doctor	$157.89	$135.78	16.3%
Dentist	$149.22	$113.29	31.7%
Ibuprofen	$11.39	$10.65	6.9%
Lipitor	$384.69	$468.60	17.9%

Housing

Item	Essex	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$560,100.00	$184,700.00	203.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$4,745.89	$2,346.69	102.2%
Apartment Rent	$483.00	$949.00	49.1%

Transportation

Item	Essex	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.43	$3.46	0.9%
Tire Balancing	$97.39	$59.92	62.5%

Utilities

Item	Essex	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$302.72	$193.99	56.0%
Phone	$187.85	$192.25	2.3%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Amesbury Town, MA	17,474	133	32.7%
Lynn, MA	94,201	136	35.5%
Salem, MA	43,350	139	39.2%
Salisbury, MA	5,116	137	37.3%
Saugus, MA	28,326	142	41.9%
Essex, MA	1,697	152	51.7%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Lake Sherwood, CA	1,697	342	241.5%
Sainte-Marcelline-de-Kildare, QC	1,697	n/a
Lamar, AR	1,696	76	23.8%
Barry, IL	1,698	79	21.3%
Aberdeen, IN	1,698	126	25.7%
Essex, MA	1,697	152	51.7%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in Essex, MA