Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Meriden's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Meriden?
Your $100,000 in Meriden has the same purchasing power as $104,210 in the average US city. You'd need $4,210 less 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 Meriden's cost index of 96, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Meriden usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: where the city quietly wins: housing costs, on the calmer side of the national distribution, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Even if other categories track the national average in Meriden, housing comes in noticeably cheaper. Median rent is about $1,191/mo, and the housing sub-index lands at 80 (US avg = 100). That's where most of the day-to-day affordability difference shows up for newcomers.
Meriden reports about 2,836 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.
Meriden'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.
Meriden's air quality index averages about 37 — 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.
The average one-way commute in Meriden is about 23 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Meriden'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.
Meriden does winter the real way. Averages around 20°F keep snow on the ground for weeks at a time, and lakes and rivers tend to freeze hard enough to walk on.
Cold enough to plan around. Winter in Meriden averages roughly 20°F, with stretches where daytime highs don't break freezing for weeks. Decent insulation, a real coat, and a car that starts in cold weather are non-negotiable.
Pleasantly warm. Meriden's summer averages around 77°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Zone 7, give or take a half-zone. Meriden's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 7 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Meriden sits at about 151 feet (46 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Atlantic basin storms can form from June 1 to November 30, but the serious ones cluster in August, September, and the first half of October. Residents of Meriden learn the season's rhythm fast: watch the cone, board up when it's the call, and don't shrug off the slow-mover storms — those are usually the ones that flood.
Average for an American city. Meriden's reported crime rate of about 2,836 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.
Roughly average. Meriden's cost-of-living index is 96, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Yes — Meriden 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 47 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $67,172 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 Meriden runs about $1,191/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.