Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Medford's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Medford?
Your $100,000 in Medford has the same purchasing power as $78,920 in the average US city. You'd need $21,080 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 Medford's cost index of 127, sorted by closest match.
If you're weighing a move to Medford, the short answer is that the city has a few genuine arguments going for it — most obviously paychecks here run high and it's a quieter city by the numbers, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's the longer version.
Median household income in Medford is $114,863 — 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.
Medford reports roughly 1,118 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.
Medford earns a Walk Score of 70/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Medford's air quality index averages about 34 — 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.
56% of adults 25 and over in Medford 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 Medford'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. Medford'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 Medford 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. Medford'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 Medford. (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.)
Medford sits at about 59 feet (18 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 Medford, 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. Medford reports roughly 1,118 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. Medford's cost-of-living index runs 127, about 27% above the US baseline. Housing usually accounts for most of the markup; groceries and services run higher too but with less drama.
Yes — Medford is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 70/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 44 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $88,697 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 Medford runs about $2,305/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.