Ranked from ACS 2023 5-Year
Highest Costs Beyond the Mortgage in Massachusetts
Tax, insurance, electricity, water and maintenance as a share of the total monthly cost of owning: everything the mortgage payment is not. Ranking the dollars would just reproduce a list of expensive counties, because all of those costs scale with the price of the house. The share does not: at one rate and one down payment the mortgage is the same fraction of price everywhere, so what moves this list is counties whose carrying costs are heavy for what the house is worth. The share depends on the rate and the 20% down payment this site models, and would shift if either changed.
Massachusetts ranked
| # | County | Share beyond mortgage | Monthly beyond mortgage | Monthly to own |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hampden County | 38.0% | $904 | $2,379 |
| 2 | Franklin County | 37.1% | $956 | $2,576 |
| 3 | Berkshire County | 36.6% | $876 | $2,391 |
| 4 | Hampshire County | 35.8% | $1,082 | $3,022 |
| 5 | Worcester County | 34.6% | $1,102 | $3,188 |
| 6 | Plymouth County | 32.7% | $1,331 | $4,069 |
| 7 | Bristol County | 32.7% | $1,093 | $3,345 |
| 8 | Essex County | 31.0% | $1,402 | $4,519 |
| 9 | Norfolk County | 30.8% | $1,541 | $5,007 |
| 10 | Middlesex County | 30.3% | $1,596 | $5,264 |
| 11 | Barnstable County | 28.3% | $1,211 | $4,286 |
| 12 | Suffolk County | 27.3% | $1,363 | $4,997 |
| 13 | Dukes County | 24.4% | $1,905 | $7,800 |
| 14 | Nantucket County | 21.3% | $2,004 | $9,409 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Highest Costs Beyond the Mortgage across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Massachusetts