Cost of Living in Newburyport
Newburyport's cost of living centers on a real, genuinely high housing-cost burden offset by an equally real, genuinely high median household income and a property tax rate that runs below Massachusetts's statewide average.
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Learn moreA genuinely high income base
Newburyport's median household income is cited at $139,625 -- approximately 25.8% above Massachusetts's own statewide median household income of approximately $104,828, per this pass's sourcing. 63% of Newburyport adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, versus 31% nationwide, with a 94.9% employment rate.
Real, substantial housing costs
Zillow's average home value ran approximately $945,413 as of May 2026 (up 3.4% year-over-year); separately-cited 2025-2026 figures put the median single-family sale price at $1,100,000 and the median list price at $1.39 million -- a real, disclosed spread this record does not resolve to one number.
A property tax rate below the state average
Newburyport's FY2026 property tax rate ran $9.26 per $1,000 of assessed value (down from FY2025's $9.58), genuinely below Massachusetts's statewide average effective rate of 1.00%-1.17% -- consistent with the state's own documented pattern of low rates in high-value coastal towns.
Massachusetts's statewide flat income tax and uniform sales tax apply
Massachusetts's real flat 5% state income tax (with the 4% surtax above $1,107,750 of taxable income) and uniform 6.25% sales tax with no local add-on apply in Newburyport as everywhere else in the state.
Key takeaways
- Median household income ($139,625) runs genuinely high, about 26% above the Massachusetts statewide median.
- Housing costs run genuinely high -- Zillow's average value ran approximately $945,413 (May 2026), with separately-cited figures running higher still.
- Newburyport's FY2026 property tax rate ($9.26/$1,000) runs below Massachusetts's statewide average effective rate.
- Massachusetts's statewide flat 5% income tax and uniform 6.25% sales tax apply here as everywhere else in the state.
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