City of Boston employees are required to live within city limits, but the salaries the City pays do not match what Boston homes cost. This page puts the two side by side, neighborhood by neighborhood, and shows what changes when a three-family building is bought by three households instead of one. For towns outside the city, see co-buying costs by AMI across Greater Boston.
Each row is a neighborhood. "Three-family building" and "One unit of three" columns come straight from our own sales data: what homes actually sold for. The benchmark tiers ($50K, $70K, $85K, $100K) are median salaries for various groups of City of Boston departments, converted into a monthly housing budget of 28% of their income, the level someone earning that salary can safely spend on housing. The colored cells are where the group is paying less than 28% of their income on their total cost of housing, grey is where it's still too expensive. As you'll see, once you add co-buyers, the cost per person drastically drops, and in most neighborhoods in Boston it drops enough to become affordable. The severity of this as an immediate solution to affordable homeownership cannot be overstated.
Monthly total cost comparisons between renting and owning together
Within the $85K ceiling of $1,983/moOver the ceilingunder rent Costs less than renting a bedroom there
| Neighborhood | Three-family building | One unit of three | One person in the unit | Two people in the unit | Three people in the unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roxbury | $1,060,272 | $353,424 | $2,568, over the ceiling | $1,284, within the ceiling | $856under rent, within the ceiling |
| Mattapan | $1,079,889 | $359,963 | $2,615, over the ceiling | $1,308, within the ceiling | $872under rent, within the ceiling |
| Hyde Park | $1,051,338 | $350,446 | $2,546, over the ceiling | $1,273, within the ceiling | $849under rent, within the ceiling |
| Roslindale | $1,094,175 | $364,725 | $2,650, over the ceiling | $1,325, within the ceiling | $883under rent, within the ceiling |
| East Boston | $1,145,259 | $381,753 | $2,773, over the ceiling | $1,387, within the ceiling | $924under rent, within the ceiling |
| West Roxbury | $1,146,876 | $382,292 | $2,777, over the ceiling | $1,389, within the ceiling | $926under rent, within the ceiling |
| Dorchester | $1,175,016 | $391,672 | $2,845, over the ceiling | $1,423, within the ceiling | $948under rent, within the ceiling |
| Jamaica Plain | $1,332,408 | $444,136 | $3,227, over the ceiling | $1,613, within the ceiling | $1,076under rent, within the ceiling |
| Brighton | $1,613,937 | $537,979 | $3,908, over the ceiling | $1,954, within the ceiling | $1,303, within the ceiling |
| South Boston | $1,624,239 | $541,413 | $3,933, over the ceiling | $1,967, within the ceiling | $1,311under rent, within the ceiling |
| Allston | $1,822,458 | $607,486 | $4,413, over the ceiling | $2,207, over the ceiling | $1,471, within the ceiling |
Three households buy the building together and each takes one unit. The monthly figures are what one household pays to own its unit (mortgage, taxes, insurance and repairs at 20% down) divided among the people living in it.
Utilizing the City's Co-Purchasing Program to Afford the Down Payment
I'm actually speechless here, it speaks for itself.
| Neighborhood | Three-family building | One unit of three | 20% down on the unit | City assistance | Household brings | Each of two | Each of three | Six months of reserves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roxbury | $1,060,272 | $353,424 | $70,685 | −$17,671 | $53,014 | $26,507 | $17,671 | $15,405 |
| Mattapan | $1,079,889 | $359,963 | $71,993 | −$17,998 | $53,994 | $26,997 | $17,998 | $15,691 |
| Hyde Park | $1,051,338 | $350,446 | $70,089 | −$17,522 | $52,567 | $26,283 | $17,522 | $15,276 |
| Roslindale | $1,094,175 | $364,725 | $72,945 | −$18,236 | $54,709 | $27,354 | $18,236 | $15,898 |
| East Boston | $1,145,259 | $381,753 | $76,351 | −$19,088 | $57,263 | $28,631 | $19,088 | $16,640 |
| West Roxbury | $1,146,876 | $382,292 | $76,458 | −$19,115 | $57,344 | $28,672 | $19,115 | $16,664 |
| Dorchester | $1,175,016 | $391,672 | $78,334 | −$19,584 | $58,751 | $29,375 | $19,584 | $17,073 |
| Jamaica Plain | $1,332,408 | $444,136 | $88,827 | −$22,207 | $66,620 | $33,310 | $22,207 | $19,360 |
| Brighton | $1,613,937 | $537,979 | $107,596 | −$26,899 | $80,697 | $40,348 | $26,899 | $23,450 |
| South Boston | $1,624,239 | $541,413 | $108,283 | −$27,071 | $81,212 | $40,606 | $27,071 | $23,600 |
| Allston | $1,822,458 | $607,486 | $121,497 | −$30,374 | $91,123 | $45,561 | $30,374 | $26,480 |
Each household buys one unit and receives one assistance award, capped at 5% of that unit's price. The household must still contribute at least 1.5% of the unit price from its own funds. "Each of two" and "each of three" divide what the household brings among the people living in that unit. Reserves are not part of the down payment: they are savings a lender expects the household to still hold at closing, shown here as six months of that unit's monthly cost.
How a Three-Family Breaks Down
Figures shown for Dorchester, the neighborhood with the deepest three-family sales history in the data, at 20% down.
How We Calculated the Benchmark Ceilings
Median salary figures are per-department medians provided by the City of Boston workforce data. Benchmark labels are rounded reference points ($50K/$70K/$85K/$100K); underlying department medians vary within each group. The 28% is the standard "don't spend more than this on housing" rule lenders use.
Which departments sit in each benchmark
- $50K benchmarkTransportation & Traffic ($45.9K, 1,225 employees); City Council ($53.4K, 141 employees)
- $70K benchmarkPublic Works / Parks / Facilities ($68.8K, 1,781 employees); Library ($71.6K, 556 employees); General Government & Admin ($68.9K, 787 employees)
- $85K benchmarkFinance / Budget / Treasury ($80.4K, 395 employees); Boston Public Schools ($86.5K, 13,555 employees)
- $100K benchmarkHousing / Planning / Inspections ($95.2K, 775 employees); IT & Innovation ($105.6K, 268 employees); Law ($101.2K, 79 employees)
What every row assumes
- Financing6.5% interest, 30-year fixed, 20% down.
- Carrying costs1.15% property tax, 0.5% insurance, 1% annual repairs, all applied monthly.
- The propertyAverage sale price of three-unit multi-family homes in each neighborhood, divided by three units.
- Splitting the costOne unit's full monthly cost divided evenly among the people living in it.
How the Boston program works
- Who qualifiesFirst-time buyers at or below the program income limits, buying a home in Boston to live in.
- What the award coversDown payment assistance up to 5% of the purchase price of the unit being bought.
- What the buyer must contributeAt least 1.5% of the purchase price from the household's own funds.
- One award per householdEach household buying a unit applies separately, so a three-family bought by three households draws three awards.
Sources
- Median price per bedroom and listing countsOur own town median table, filtered to Boston, MA sub-areas.
- Three-family unit pricesOur MLS master file, filtered to three-unit multi-family sales and grouped by neighborhood. Sample sizes range from 6 sales in Allston to 146 in Dorchester; smaller samples are directional.
- Median rent per bedroomOur rent by town table.
- Salary benchmarksCity of Boston department-level median salary and headcount data, grouped into four round-number reference points. These are not HUD AMI figures.
- Affordability ceilingAnnual salary × 28% ÷ 12, the standard front-end debt-to-income ratio lenders use.
If you have 1 or 2 people you really trust, and have either a network of others or want a network of others, with incomes and savings levels near here, you could be in a position to purchase in 3 to 6 months. Take the next step, or meet other households at our free monthly drop-in hours.
