Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Lowell's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Lowell?
Your $100,000 in Lowell has the same purchasing power as $81,579 in the average US city. You'd need $18,421 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 Lowell's cost index of 123, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Lowell, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously lower-than-average crime numbers and you don't actually need a car, plus 1 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Lowell reports about 2,158 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Lowell's Walk Score is 83/100 — top-tier walkability by US standards. Groceries, coffee, work, social life: most of it lands within reasonable foot range of wherever you live. A lot of residents skip car ownership entirely, which is its own form of savings on top of the lifestyle change. Transit Score comes in at 64/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Lowell's air quality index averages about 33 — 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.
Reasons are pulled from Lowell'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. Lowell'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 Lowell 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. Lowell'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 Lowell. (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.)
Lowell sits at about 128 feet (39 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 Lowell, 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.
Average for an American city. Lowell's reported crime rate of about 2,158 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Yes, noticeably. Lowell's cost-of-living index runs 123, about 23% above the US baseline. Housing usually accounts for most of the markup; groceries and services run higher too but with less drama.
Yes — Lowell is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 83/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 64 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $85,806 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 Lowell runs about $1,466/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.