Boston, Cambridge, Peabody Among 'Most Overpriced' Cities
BOSTON (CBS) -- Living in Massachusetts is not the way to get the most bang for your buck, according to a new ranking.
Forbes recently released its list of "America's Most Overpriced Cities," and three metropolitan areas in Massachusetts land in the top 10. The ranking looks at housing affordability and other cost-of-living measurements.
Coming in third is the Boston-Quincy area, where the median income is $87,317 but just 53.6 percent of homes sold there are affordable to people making that much, according to Forbes.
Besides housing, Boston residents also pay more for just about everything else. Groceries are 14.5 percent above the national average, utilities are 23.4 percent, transportation is 8.8 percent and health costs are 21.5 percent above the average.
Still, there's a reason people are willing to shell out more to call Boston home. Boston College economics professor Can Erbil tells WBZ NewsRadio 1030 that the city's world-class medical facilities, culture and history make it worth it for many.
"I don't think anyone can deny that Boston is pricey," he said. "I do not believe Boston is overpriced."
Just behind Boston at No. 5 is the Cambridge area (Forbes also places Newton and Framingham here), where the median income is higher at about $100,000, but that still only makes 54 percent of housing affordable.
Landing in ninth is Essex County, including Peabody. The median income is just under $83,000, and about 59 percent of housing is affordable for those making that much, according to Forbes.
The top 10 most overpriced cities:
1. Honolulu
2. Southern Connecticut
3. Boston
4. New York
5. Cambridge
6. San Francisco
7. Oakland
8. San Jose
9. Essex County
10. Bergen County, New Jersey
