Cost of living in New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford, Massachusetts has about 100,998 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $357,300.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in this town's area (New Bedford, MA HUD Metro FMR Area) is $1,668 a month. That rate runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

In the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area, prices sit at 101.8 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 New Bedford'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 New Bedford'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, 165 have higher typical rent than New Bedford.