Massachusetts and New Hampshire at a glance
Moving between Massachusetts and New Hampshire changes more than the scenery. On a $60,000 salary, Massachusetts leaves $13,569 a year after taxes, rent, food, energy and gasoline; New Hampshire leaves $23,518.
New Hampshire comes out ahead by $9,949 a year ($829 a month). The calculation starts from the same gross pay in both states, subtracts federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, then each state's own income tax, and then the population-weighted cost of a one-bedroom rental, groceries, home energy and gasoline across 7,044,056 people in 14 counties in Massachusetts and 1,394,868 people in 10 counties in New Hampshire.
Taxes: what each paycheck loses
Federal income tax ($5,072) and FICA ($4,590) on $60,000 are the same on both sides of the border. New Hampshire does not tax wages, while Massachusetts takes $2,780 of a $60,000 salary in state income tax, so take-home pay is $2,780 higher in New Hampshire.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $74,121 in Massachusetts and $78,901 in New Hampshire, a difference of $4,780. The gap widens with income because graduated state brackets take a growing share.
Living costs
One-bedroom rent averages $2,087 a month in Massachusetts and $1,556 in New Hampshire, so New Hampshire is $531 a month cheaper for housing. Food costs $3,436 a year in both, because the USDA Thrifty Food Plan is a national figure; home energy $3,968 and $3,210, and gasoline $1,542 and $1,505. Together the basics cost $33,989 a year in Massachusetts and $26,821 in New Hampshire.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $103,960 in Massachusetts and $99,031 in New Hampshire. Homeowners pay a median of $5,992 a year in property tax in Massachusetts and $6,667 in New Hampshire. Commuters travel 29.1 minutes each way on average in Massachusetts and 26.7 in New Hampshire.
Method
Taxes use the 2025 rules for a single filer with wage income only and the standard deduction. Housing and living costs are county figures from HUD (one-bedroom Fair Market Rent), the USDA Thrifty Food Plan and state energy prices from the Energy Information Administration, averaged across each state's counties and weighted by population, so large counties count more. Local income taxes are not included. Counties differ widely inside every state, so use the county pages for a specific place.