Massachusetts vs New Hampshire: which really costs more?
New Hampshire levies neither a general sales tax nor a state income tax, and it borders one of the highest-tax states in New England — which is exactly why the border shopping is real.
Massachusetts
- State income tax
- 5.00%
- Rank of 51
- 4
- Combined sales tax
- 6.25%
- Rank of 51
- 35
New Hampshire
- State income tax
- None
- Rank of 51
- 46
- Combined sales tax
- None
- Rank of 51
- 50
Income tax shown is the effective state rate on a $75,000 salary for a single filer; sales tax is the combined state and local rate in each state's representative county. Both figures come from the same verified datasets the calculator uses.
What things actually cost in each
Gross income required at a $75,000 salary, using each category's default assumptions — sorted by the biggest difference between the two states.
| Category | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home purchase | $1,245,084 | $1,136,019 | $109,065 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Wedding | $48,838 | $42,644 | $6,194 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Coffee habit | $26,737 | $23,376 | $3,361 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Car payment or lease | $17,793 | $16,529 | $1,265 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Funeral | $12,242 | $11,372 | $870 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Phone plan | $10,544 | $9,794 | $749 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Pet annual cost | $2,517 | $2,200 | $316 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Laptop or phone purchase | $1,951 | $1,706 | $245 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Rent | $2,754 | $2,559 | $196 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Childcare | $1,683 | $1,564 | $120 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Hotel stay | $1,070 | $994 | $76 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Health insurance premium | $689 | $640 | $49 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Student loan payment | $612 | $569 | $44 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Domestic flight | $502 | $466 | $36 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Concert ticket | $223 | $196 | $26 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Utilities | $321 | $299 | $23 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Restaurant dinner | $156 | $136 | $20 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Weekly groceries | $268 | $249 | $19 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Car insurance | $252 | $235 | $18 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Gym membership | $73 | $64 | $9 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Streaming bundle | $73 | $64 | $9 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Cannabis (legal states) | $108 | $101 | $8 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Internet service | $107 | $100 | $8 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Pizza delivery | $61 | $54 | $7 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Food delivery | $58 | $52 | $6 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Soft drinks | $39 | $34 | $5 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Gas fill-up | $69 | $64 | $5 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Haircut | $64 | $60 | $5 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Fast food meal | $20 | $17 | $2 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Rideshare trip | $34 | $31 | $2 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Bar drink | $18 | $15 | $2 cheaper in New Hampshire |
| Cigarettes or vape | $15 | $13 | $2 cheaper in New Hampshire |
Across the 32 categories we can compute for both states, New Hampshire comes out cheaper more often. That is not the whole picture — housing costs, wages, and property tax vary far more than sales tax does, and none of those are modeled here. See limitations.