Cost of Living in Amherst
Amherst's cost of living centers on a real, disclosed tension: housing costs meaningfully below Greater Boston's, paired with a genuinely high property tax burden that a 2025 analysis found makes Amherst the least affordable Massachusetts community by tax-bill-to-income.
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Learn moreHousing costs below Greater Boston, but real in absolute terms
Amherst's typical home value ran approximately $487,354 per Zillow's 2026 figure (a separately-cited, seasonally adjusted mid-tier figure ran somewhat lower, approximately $427,942) -- meaningfully below Greater Boston's costs while still a real, substantial expense.
A genuinely high property tax rate
Amherst's total FY2025-26 mil rate ran $17.95 per $1,000 of assessed value -- the 14th-highest in Massachusetts -- producing an average FY2026 single-family bill of $9,693, an effective rate of roughly 1.79%, genuinely above the state's 1.00%-1.17% average.
The state's least-affordable-by-income finding, explained
A 2025 Amherst Indy analysis found Amherst leads Massachusetts in average tax bill as a share of per-capita income -- a real, distinct measure from the rate itself, substantially explained by Amherst's large student population depressing the town's per-capita-income denominator rather than an unusually extreme rate alone.
A genuinely high household income base for non-student residents
Amherst's median household income is cited at $87,001 per current ACS 5-year estimates, alongside Massachusetts's statewide flat 5% income tax (plus the 4% surtax above $1,107,750) and uniform 6.25% sales tax with no local add-on.
Key takeaways
- Typical home value ran approximately $487,354 (Zillow 2026) -- below Greater Boston, but a real, substantial cost.
- Amherst's property tax rate ($17.95/$1,000) is the 14th-highest in Massachusetts, producing a $9,693 average FY2026 bill.
- A 2025 analysis found Amherst the LEAST affordable MA town by tax-bill-to-per-capita-income, substantially explained by its student population.
- Massachusetts's statewide flat 5% income tax and uniform 6.25% sales tax apply in Amherst as everywhere else in the state.
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