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Cost & Benefits

Cost of living in Arlington, Massachusetts

Arlington, Massachusetts has about 46,350 people. Typical rent is $2,082 a month, including utilities, and a typical household earns $150,701 a year. Both figures are Census 2020–2024 medians, not a listing or your pay. This site does not approve or deny benefits. A missing figure stays blank. We do not guess it.

Ranked #46 in Massachusetts on the 2026 Most Affordable Towns Index.

Simple answer

Typical rent is $2,082 a month.

Arlington is a Census community, not a separate city government in Massachusetts. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $150,701 a year.

People
46,350
Census average, 2020–2024
Typical rent
$2,082
Median gross rent, includes utilities
Typical pay
$150,701
Median household income, yearly
Typical home
$933,800
Median home value
2-bedroom fair rent
$3,008
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area
Gas
$4.439
Massachusetts, week of October 12, 2026

Arlington, Massachusetts has about 46,350 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $933,800.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in this town's area (Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area) is $3,008 a month. That rate runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

In the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, prices sit at 108.3 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.

Massachusetts taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 6.3% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Arlington's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical Massachusetts home paid 30.49¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Arlington's bill.

For the week of October 12, 2026, EIA's all-grades gasoline price in Massachusetts was $4.439 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,130.72 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Massachusetts shares this price.

Among 203 places we list in Massachusetts with a rent figure, 39 have higher typical rent than Arlington.

Nearby places

EBT nearby

USDA has a live map of stores that take SNAP. We did not copy that store list here. The downloadable file is a history file for 2005 through 2025, so the live map is the one to use.

Locator page updated 2026-09-11. Last checked 2026-10-16.

Food stamps (SNAP) tools in Massachusetts

Bigger places in Massachusetts

Census 2020-2024. HUD rents for October 2026–September 2027. BEA prices for 2024. Taxes as of January 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16. 15,000 places are in this guide.