This table answers the question: if you're a moderate income earner, where you buy a home in Greater Boston? Each row is a town. "Median Price" and "Monthly Cost" columns come straight from our own sales data: what homes actually sold for and what owning one costs per month. The AMI columns (60%, 80%, 100%) are income limits set by HUD for a one-person household in our region, converted into a monthly housing budget, basically the most a single person at that income level can safely spend on housing (to use your own income instead, try the co-buying calculator). The "Locked Out / Unlocked" columns compare the two: if the monthly cost is higher than the income limit allows, that person is locked out of buying alone. Once you add co-buyers, the cost per person drops, and in most towns it drops enough to become affordable.
How We Calculated the AMI Income Ceilings
Why the same income limit applies to every town: HUD sets this income limit once per metro area, not per town. All 20 towns below sit inside the same Boston-Cambridge-Quincy HUD area, so the income limit doesn't change, only the home prices do. The 28% is the standard "don't spend more than this on housing" rule lenders use. Figures here are for a single person (1-person household), not a family of four, a more realistic comparison since many buyers coming to us are individuals, not families.
What every row assumes
- Property modeledEach town's per-bedroom price × 4, a representative 4-bedroom home.
- Financing20% down, 6.5% interest, 30-year term.
- Carrying costs1.15% property tax, 0.5% insurance, 1% annual repairs.
- Cost per buyerTotal price split evenly, then full monthly ownership cost on that share.
AMI Affordability Table
Affordable at $1,680/moOver the ceiling
| Town | Total price, 4-bed | Rent per bed | Solo | 2 buyers | 3 buyers | 4 buyers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | $680,000 | $1,067 | $4,940, over the ceiling | $2,470, over the ceiling | $1,647, affordable | $1,235, affordable |
| Everett | $734,667 | $983 | $5,337, over the ceiling | $2,669, over the ceiling | $1,779, over the ceiling | $1,334, affordable |
| Boston | $766,667 | $1,195 | $5,570, over the ceiling | $2,785, over the ceiling | $1,857, over the ceiling | $1,392, affordable |
| Revere | $773,333 | $1,100 | $5,618, over the ceiling | $2,809, over the ceiling | $1,873, over the ceiling | $1,405, affordable |
| Framingham | $843,333 | $1,125 | $6,127, over the ceiling | $3,063, over the ceiling | $2,042, over the ceiling | $1,532, affordable |
| Malden | $852,667 | $1,017 | $6,195, over the ceiling | $3,097, over the ceiling | $2,065, over the ceiling | $1,549, affordable |
| Quincy | $866,000 | $1,000 | $6,291, over the ceiling | $3,146, over the ceiling | $2,097, over the ceiling | $1,573, affordable |
| Somerville | $933,333 | $1,279 | $6,781, over the ceiling | $3,390, over the ceiling | $2,260, over the ceiling | $1,695, over the ceiling |
| Medford | $942,000 | $1,167 | $6,844, over the ceiling | $3,422, over the ceiling | $2,281, over the ceiling | $1,711, over the ceiling |
| Waltham | $948,333 | $1,167 | $6,890, over the ceiling | $3,445, over the ceiling | $2,297, over the ceiling | $1,722, over the ceiling |
| Natick | $950,000 | $1,133 | $6,902, over the ceiling | $3,451, over the ceiling | $2,301, over the ceiling | $1,725, over the ceiling |
| Watertown | $975,500 | $1,133 | $7,087, over the ceiling | $3,543, over the ceiling | $2,362, over the ceiling | $1,772, over the ceiling |
| Melrose | $983,833 | $1,188 | $7,147, over the ceiling | $3,574, over the ceiling | $2,382, over the ceiling | $1,787, over the ceiling |
| Needham | $1,058,571 | $1,475 | $7,690, over the ceiling | $3,845, over the ceiling | $2,563, over the ceiling | $1,923, over the ceiling |
| Newton | $1,063,333 | $1,375 | $7,725, over the ceiling | $3,862, over the ceiling | $2,575, over the ceiling | $1,931, over the ceiling |
| Arlington | $1,068,000 | $1,233 | $7,759, over the ceiling | $3,879, over the ceiling | $2,586, over the ceiling | $1,940, over the ceiling |
| Cambridge | $1,073,333 | $1,500 | $7,798, over the ceiling | $3,899, over the ceiling | $2,599, over the ceiling | $1,949, over the ceiling |
| Wellesley | $1,080,000 | $1,612 | $7,846, over the ceiling | $3,923, over the ceiling | $2,615, over the ceiling | $1,962, over the ceiling |
| Weston | $1,100,000 | $1,667 | $7,991, over the ceiling | $3,996, over the ceiling | $2,664, over the ceiling | $1,998, over the ceiling |
| Brookline | $1,125,000 | $1,500 | $8,173, over the ceiling | $4,086, over the ceiling | $2,724, over the ceiling | $2,043, over the ceiling |
Monthly cost per person: mortgage, taxes, insurance and repairs on an even share of the property.
Sources
- AMI income limitsMHP 2026 Income Limits PDF (mhp.net), Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA table, 1-person household: $72,000, $96,000 and $120,000 per year.
- Affordability ceilingEach AMI income figure converted to a monthly housing budget using the standard 28% front-end debt-to-income ratio: Ceiling = Annual Income × 0.28 ÷ 12.
- Why 28%?28% is the standard "front-end" debt-to-income ratio lenders use to evaluate mortgage affordability: the maximum share of gross monthly income a household should spend on housing costs to be considered a safe loan. It is a widely used underwriting benchmark, not a HomeMates assumption.
- Property dataMedian price per bed and listing counts from our own town median table; median rent per bed from our rent by town table.
- Market selection20 towns selected as key Greater Boston markets, not the full ~345-town dataset. Can be expanded on request.
- Household sizeAMI figures used are for a 1-person household (not 4-person), reflecting that many buyers coming to HomeMates are individuals rather than families, and that a 4-bedroom property is shared by multiple co-buyers rather than occupied by one household.
Inside Boston, see every neighborhood at City of Boston salary levels, and how the City's Co-Purchasing program lowers the down payment.
Want a list of properties affordable to you today? Contact us, or come to one of our free monthly drop-in hours.
