Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Brookline's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Brookline?
Your $100,000 in Brookline has the same purchasing power as $78,186 in the average US city. You'd need $21,814 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Brookline's cost index of 128, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Brookline, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously paychecks here run high and jobs are easy to find right now, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Median household income in Brookline is $130,600 — well above the US median of roughly $75k. It's a city where high-paying industries (tech, finance, professional services) cluster, and the income distribution tilts noticeably upward relative to most of the country.
Unemployment in Brookline is running about 3.5% — below the typical US baseline of around 4%. That usually translates to a job market where employers compete for workers more than the other way around, which is the better side of that equation to be on if you're the one moving.
Brookline reports roughly 1,030 crime incidents per 100,000 residents, well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. As always, citywide numbers paper over real differences between neighborhoods — but the broader trend here is on the calmer end of the US distribution.
Brookline's air quality index averages about 35 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
84% of adults 25 and over in Brookline hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Brookline's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Yes, several times a winter. Brookline's winter average of about 26°F sits right around freezing, so storms typically drop real snow that lingers a few days before slush sets in.
Cold but workable. Winter in Brookline averages about 26°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Pleasantly warm. Brookline's summer averages around 80°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 8. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 8 or colder should survive a typical winter in Brookline. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Brookline sits at about 226 feet (69 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Officially, Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, but most of the action lands between mid-August and mid-October. For Brookline, that's when to keep half an eye on the National Hurricane Center forecast cone — and when an actual evacuation plan is worth having in the drawer if you're in a low-lying or coastal neighborhood.
By the numbers, yes. Brookline reports roughly 1,030 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — well under the US average of about 3,500 per 100k. The big caveat applies as always: every city has neighborhoods that look nothing like the citywide average. But the citywide average here is genuinely good.
Yes, noticeably. Brookline's cost-of-living index runs 128, about 28% above the US baseline. Housing usually accounts for most of the markup; groceries and services run higher too but with less drama.
Not really — Brookline is built around the car. Its Walk Score of 11 out of 100 means almost every errand is a drive. Transit Score is 30 out of 100. Living without a car is technically possible but real work; most residents wouldn't try it.
Roughly $89,530 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Brookline runs about $2,702/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.