City comparison
Cambridge, MA is about 200 miles (300 km) from New York, NY in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 225 miles, or about 4 h behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Cambridge, MA to New York, NY takes about 23 min, covering roughly 200 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
New York has a population of 8,622,467, vs 117,962 in Cambridge — about 73.1× larger by population. By land area, New York covers about 300 sq mi vs 6.4 sq mi for Cambridge.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Cambridge | New York | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,628/mo | $1,714/mo | 53.3% higher in Cambridge |
| Median home value | $997,600 | $732,100 | 36.3% higher in Cambridge |
| Median household income | $121,539 | $76,607 | 58.7% higher in Cambridge |
| Groceries index | 100.1 | 109.6 | 9.5% higher in New York |
| Utilities index | 147.4 | 128.8 | 14.4% higher in Cambridge |
| Transportation index | 102.2 | 105.4 | 3.1% higher in New York |
| Healthcare index | 106.4 | 105.3 | 1.0% higher in Cambridge |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Cambridge, you'd need $98,307 in New York to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
New York, NY is about 1.7% cheaper overall than Cambridge, MA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 4% higher in Cambridge than in New York. If you earn $80,000 in Cambridge, you'd need about $78,645 in New York to keep the same standard of living.