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Cost & Benefits

Compare / Syracuse to Worcester

Syracuse, NY vs Worcester, MA

Simple answer

You'd likely save $550 a month in Syracuse.

This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.

The largest cost gap in this pair is Census rent. Census median gross rent differs by $449, with Worcester higher.

New York taxes wages at rates up to 10.90%. Massachusetts taxes wages at rates up to 9.00%. Combined sales tax differs by 2.3 percentage points, higher in New York. The effective property tax gap is 0.45 percentage points, higher in New York.

After a move from New York to Massachusetts, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.

A $75,000 salary in Syracuse lines up with about $80,312 in Worcester on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.

Syracuse

Syracuse, NY

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$1,493
HUD area
Syracuse, NY MSA
Census median gross rent
$1,114
All-items price parity
95.7
Goods price parity
99.7
Utilities price parity
133.4
Mean commute
21.7 min
Median household income
$76,313

Worcester

Worcester, MA

2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
$2,043
HUD area
Worcester, MA HUD Metro FMR Area
Census median gross rent
$1,563
All-items price parity
102.5
Goods price parity
97.0
Utilities price parity
155.2
Mean commute
29.8 min
Median household income
$96,602

Equivalent salary

The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.

Same buying power

$80,312

Salary in Worcester that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.

After state and federal tax

$79,453

Gross salary in Worcester whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.

Rent only

$102,629

Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.

Taxes on the two sides of the move

TaxNew YorkMassachusetts
State income tax on wagesup to 10.90%up to 9.00%
Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 20268.5%6.3%
Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median1.45%1.00%

On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $5,818 a year in New York and $4,004 in Massachusetts. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.

Benefits if you land in Massachusetts

Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in New York and once in Massachusetts. This is an illustration, not your application.

  • Food stamps (SNAP)

    SyracuseLikely eligible

    WorcesterLikely eligible

  • Medicaid and CHIP

    SyracuseLikely eligible

    WorcesterLikely eligible

  • WIC

    SyracuseLikely eligible

    WorcesterLikely eligible

  • School meals

    SyracuseLikely eligible

    WorcesterLikely eligible

  • LIHEAP

    SyracuseMaybe

    WorcesterMaybe

  • Earned Income Tax Credit

    SyracuseLikely eligible

    WorcesterLikely eligible

  • Child Tax Credit

    SyracuseLikely eligible

    WorcesterLikely eligible

  • Marketplace premium tax credits

    SyracuseUnlikely

    WorcesterUnlikely

  • Lifeline phone and internet

    SyracuseLikely eligible

    WorcesterLikely eligible

  • SSI

    SyracuseUnlikely

    WorcesterUnlikely

At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.

Medicaid guide for Massachusetts · SNAP guide

Related comparisons

From Syracuse

The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Syracuse.

Nearby metros

How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.