Can a household afford to live here?

Two tests, and both have to pass. Housing under 30% of income, and something left over after taxes and the things a household cannot go without. Type your own numbers, or start from a published household. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, stored, or put in the address bar.

Housing test · What is left over

Start from

Gross annual income$ a yearHousing a month$ a monthUtilities a month$ a monthTaxes a year$ a year

The published Housing line is a single figure and this page does not split it, because the publisher does not. If you know your own utility bill, enter it.

The working

Every line, in the order it is subtracted. The total is the figure the second test is measured against.

+ Gross annual income: $70,707
− Housing and required utilities: $28,404
− Taxes: $14,865
− FoodMIT Living Wage Calculator · 2026: $5,118
− Child CareMIT Living Wage Calculator · 2026: $0
− MedicalMIT Living Wage Calculator · 2026: $4,067
− TransportationMIT Living Wage Calculator · 2026: $8,013
− CivicMIT Living Wage Calculator · 2026: $3,456
− Internet & MobileMIT Living Wage Calculator · 2026: $2,071
− OtherMIT Living Wage Calculator · 2026: $4,715
= What is left over: $-2

Housing testFails

40.2%of income, against a 30% limit

What is left overFails

$-2a year, against a floor of $0

Both tests togetherNot affordableBoth tests fail.

What this is not

Not an eligibility determination and not a personal affordability score.
Age selects which needs apply; it never reduces entitlement to affordability.
Stability and access are separate questions, not folded into this answer.
Nothing typed here is sent anywhere, stored, or put into the address bar.

TRUE affordability v1.0 · TRUE = (annual housing + required utilities) / gross income <= threshold AND gross income - housing - utilities - taxes - required needs >= residual floor

What it takes to buy, by neighbourhood

Median recent sale, turned into the income a buyer would need, against the four-person area median. Every neighbourhood needs more than the median.

Cambridge Highlands$230,381
140% of the four-person area medianShort by $159,674
East Cambridge$260,000
158% of the four-person area medianShort by $189,293
Mid-Cambridge$260,476
158% of the four-person area medianShort by $189,769
Neighborhood Nine$265,943
162% of the four-person area medianShort by $195,236
Wellington-Harrington$266,310
162% of the four-person area medianShort by $195,603
North Cambridge$313,667
191% of the four-person area medianShort by $242,960
Cambridgeport$325,667
198% of the four-person area medianShort by $254,960
The Port$341,667
208% of the four-person area medianShort by $270,960
Riverside$386,714
235% of the four-person area medianShort by $316,007
Strawberry Hill$393,095
239% of the four-person area medianShort by $322,388
West Cambridge$494,286
300% of the four-person area medianShort by $423,579
Baldwin$502,857
306% of the four-person area medianShort by $432,150

Your income: $70,707. Reaches 0 of 12 neighbourhoods.

The City's qualifying limits

Household	City 50% of MedianExtrapolated by the City from the 100% figure	HUD 50% AMISupplied by HUD	HUD 60% of MedianSupplied by HUD	HUD 80% AMISupplied by HUD	HUD 100% of MedianNot assigned by the publisher's footnote	120% of MedianExtrapolated by the City from the 100% figure
1	$57,600	$60,000	$72,000	$96,000	$115,200	$138,260
2	$65,850	$68,600	$82,320	$109,700	$131,700	$158,020
3	$74,050	$77,150	$92,580	$123,400	$148,100	$177,770
4	$82,300	$85,700	$102,840	$137,100	$164,600	$197,520
5	$88,900	$92,600	$111,120	$148,100	$177,800	$213,320
6	$95,450	$99,450	$119,340	$159,050	$190,900	$229,120
7	$102,050	$106,300	$127,560	$170,050	$204,100	$244,920
8	$108,650	$113,150	$135,780	$181,000	$217,300	$260,730

Income limits are based on the FY26 HUD figures issued for the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH Metro FMR Area. The 30%, 50%, 60% and HUD 80% are supplied by HUD. City percents are extrapolated from the 100% figure. All income limits are subject to change.

Housing test · What is left over

The working

What this is not

All join.All work together.