Massachusetts and New York at a glance
Massachusetts and New York share a border, but a paycheck does not travel across it unchanged. A $60,000 salary leaves $13,569 a year after taxes and the four basics in Massachusetts and $14,065 in New York.
New York comes out ahead by $496 a year ($41 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 19,852,366 people in 62 counties in New York.
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. State income tax takes $2,780 in Massachusetts and $2,695 in New York, which leaves take-home pay of $47,559 and $47,644.
At $100,000
At $100,000 take-home pay is $74,121 in Massachusetts and $73,949 in New York, a difference of $172. 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 $2,120 in New York, so Massachusetts is $33 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 $3,235, and gasoline $1,542 and $1,467. Together the basics cost $33,989 a year in Massachusetts and $33,578 in New York.
What the Census adds
Median household income is $103,960 in Massachusetts and $85,974 in New York. Homeowners pay a median of $5,992 a year in property tax in Massachusetts and $6,582 in New York. Commuters travel 29.1 minutes each way on average in Massachusetts and 32.6 in New York.
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.