Is Amherst Town cheaper than Burlington?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Amherst Town and Burlington metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Amherst Town or Burlington?

Burlington has the higher median household income — $89,615 versus $81,732 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 10% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Amherst Town or Burlington?

A paycheck stretches further in Burlington. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $88,773 there versus $81,534 in Amherst Town.

Which has cheaper rent, Amherst Town or Burlington?

Amherst Town has cheaper rent — a median of $1,425/mo versus $1,631/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Amherst Town vs Burlington

Metro-area medians — Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area vs Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Burlington comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 8 clearly-decided measures.

Amherst Town and Burlington cost about the same to live in, but Burlington households earn about 10% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Burlington.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Amherst Town, MA

$57,564

take-home / yr · 23% to tax

$57,424

real value after local prices

Burlington, VT

$58,409

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$57,860

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Burlington leaves you about $436/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure

Amherst Town

Burlington

Livability (CityLedger)

62/100

77/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

100.2

100.9

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$81,534

$88,773

Median household income

$81,732

$89,615

Median rent

$1,425/mo

$1,631/mo

Median home value

$413,400

$438,100

Unemployment

2.4%

Bachelor's degree or higher

54.6%

50.9%

Average commute

22.6 min

21.7 min

Air quality (median AQI)

—

Avg temperature

49°F

48°F

Choose Amherst Town for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Bachelor's degree or higher

Full Amherst Town profile →

Choose Burlington for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Unemployment
+ Average commute

Full Burlington profile →

Amherst Town vs Burlington — frequently asked

Is Amherst Town cheaper than Burlington?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Amherst Town and Burlington metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Amherst Town or Burlington?: Burlington has the higher median household income — $89,615 versus $81,732 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 10% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Amherst Town or Burlington?: A paycheck stretches further in Burlington. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $88,773 there versus $81,534 in Amherst Town.
Which has cheaper rent, Amherst Town or Burlington?: Amherst Town has cheaper rent — a median of $1,425/mo versus $1,631/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).