Is It Cheaper to Buy a Home in Quincy, MA Than in Boston in 2026?
Usually yes, and the advantage sits mostly in the purchase price. Redfin's Quincy market page reports a median sale price of $669,000 and $476 per square foot, against roughly $852,000 and $681 per square foot in Boston. That gap lowers the cash you need at closing by about $36,600 on a 20% down payment and lowers your monthly principal and interest by roughly $942 at current rates.
The ongoing costs are more of a mixed picture, and property tax is where most people guess wrong. For fiscal year 2026, Quincy's residential rate was $11.78 per $1,000 of assessed value and Boston's was $12.40. Boston's rate looks worse until you account for its residential exemption, which reduced the taxable assessment for a qualifying owner occupant by $351,108, worth up to $4,353.74 a year. Quincy has not adopted a broad citywide owner-occupant residential exemption. So on two homes carrying the same assessment, a qualifying Boston owner occupant can pay thousands less in property tax than a Quincy owner.
Figures checked against the City of Quincy Assessors Office, Boston.gov, Redfin, the MBTA, and Freddie Mac in August and September 2026.
Who this applies to
This post is for you if you are renting or owning in Boston, you are looking at Quincy because the numbers in your neighborhood stopped working, and you want to know what actually changes on your monthly statement rather than what a cost-of-living index says.
It is most useful if you are buying in the $500,000 to $900,000 range, you commute into Boston at least part of the week, and you are weighing a Quincy single family or condo against a Boston condo of similar size.
It is less useful if you are paying cash, buying above $1.5 million, or buying purely as a rental investment. The investor math runs on rents, vacancy, and financing terms, and it lands in a different place.
A note on which tax year these numbers come from
Massachusetts cities set their tax rate for a fiscal year that runs July 1 through June 30, and the rate is typically approved and certified in late fall, months after the fiscal year has already started. That means as of September 2026 the most recent certified residential rates for both cities are the fiscal year 2026 rates, covering July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The fiscal year 2027 rates and the fiscal year 2027 exemption amounts had not been set at the time of writing.
Use the FY2026 figures below to understand how the two systems compare to each other. Do not use them to predict your exact bill. Confirm the current rate and exemption with the Quincy Assessors Office at (617) 376-1170 or the Boston Assessing Department before you rely on a number.
What is the real price difference between Quincy and Boston in 2026?
Roughly $183,000 on the median sale and roughly $205 per square foot, based on Redfin data for both cities.
Two cautions before you use those numbers. Redfin's Quincy figure is a single-month municipal median and the Boston figure is a three-month rolling median through May 2026, so they are not measured over identical windows, and the shorter window swings harder. Both are all-residential blends of single families, condos, and multi-families, and Boston's mix skews far more heavily toward condos than Quincy's does. Different providers also disagree: Zillow's 2026 Quincy data has shown a median around $630,833 for May 2026 and another displayed figure near $649,750, which tells you how much the answer depends on who is counting and over what period.
| Metric | Quincy | Boston | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price, all home types | $669,000 (Redfin market page, 2026) | About $852,000 (three-month median through May 2026, Redfin-derived) | A buyer with $135,000 saved can put 20% down on a median Quincy home but needs about $170,000 for 20% down on a median Boston home |
| Median sale price per square foot | $476 | $681 | At the same $700,000 budget you buy roughly 1,470 sq ft in Quincy versus roughly 1,030 sq ft in Boston, before adjusting for condition and property type |
| Cash needed for 20% down | About $133,800 | About $170,400 | The $36,600 difference is often what decides whether a buyer can move this year or has to wait another one |
| Loan size at 20% down | About $535,200 | About $681,600 | You carry roughly $146,000 less debt for the median Quincy purchase |
Treat price per square foot as a citywide benchmark for comparing markets, not as a tool for valuing a specific house. It is especially unreliable across Boston's condo-heavy urban neighborhoods and Quincy's mix of single families, condos, and small multi-families.
How much lower is the monthly mortgage payment in Quincy?
Roughly $942 a month lower on a median-priced home, using the 6.67% 30-year fixed rate Freddie Mac reported for the week of August 13, 2026.
A $669,000 Quincy purchase with 20% down leaves a $535,200 loan, which runs about $3,443 a month in principal and interest. An $852,000 Boston purchase with 20% down leaves a $681,600 loan, which runs about $4,385 a month. Over the first five years, that difference is close to $56,500 you did not spend on the payment.
These figures assume 20% down, a 30-year fixed at 6.67%, no mortgage insurance, and exclude taxes, insurance, and condo fees. Your actual rate will depend on your credit, the property type, and the loan product. Rates checked against Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey in August 2026.
Are property taxes actually lower in Quincy than in Boston?
Per $1,000 of assessed value, yes. For a qualifying owner occupant, the total bill in Boston is frequently lower, because Boston has a residential exemption and Quincy does not.
For fiscal year 2026, Quincy's residential rate was $11.78 per $1,000 of assessed value and Boston's was $12.40. Boston's FY2026 residential exemption reduced the taxable assessment for a qualifying owner occupant by $351,108, producing a maximum annual savings of $4,353.74 at that year's rate. Once an owner qualifies and has enough taxable value to use the full exemption, that benefit is essentially a fixed dollar amount rather than one that grows with the home's value.
Quincy has not adopted a broad citywide owner-occupant residential exemption comparable to Boston's. Quincy does offer targeted statutory exemptions for qualifying owners, including eligible seniors, veterans, surviving spouses or minor children with a deceased parent, and legally blind residents, and those applications must be filed every year.
The examples below use assumed assessments solely to illustrate how the rates and the exemption interact. A property's assessed value can be materially above or below its purchase price, and both cities reassess annually.
| Scenario, FY2026 rates | Annual property tax | Why it lands there |
|---|---|---|
| Home assessed at $700,000 in Quincy, owner occupied | About $8,246 | The full $700,000 is taxed at $11.78 per $1,000, with no general residential exemption available |
| Home assessed at $700,000 in Boston, owner occupied and qualified for the exemption | About $4,326 | $351,108 comes off the taxable assessment first, leaving $348,892 taxed at $12.40 per $1,000 |
| Home assessed at $700,000 in Boston, not owner occupied | About $8,680 | The full $700,000 is taxed at $12.40 per $1,000, so an investor or second-home owner pays more in Boston than in Quincy on the same assessment |
| Home assessed at $669,000 in Quincy, owner occupied | About $7,881 | Quincy's lower rate does not offset the absence of a general exemption |
| Home assessed at $852,000 in Boston, owner occupied and qualified | About $6,211 | A more expensive Boston home can still carry a smaller tax bill than a cheaper Quincy home |
When does a new Boston buyer actually get the residential exemption?
Sooner than the old rule suggested, and the timing is worth confirming rather than assuming.
For fiscal year 2027, an owner who owned and occupied the home as a principal residence on January 1, 2026 may qualify. Boston's expanded rule also allows certain buyers who recorded their deed and occupied the property as their principal residence between January 1 and June 30, 2026 to qualify for that same fiscal year. Buyers closing after June 30 generally should plan on qualifying in the following fiscal year, subject to Boston's application rules and filing deadlines.
If the exemption is doing real work in your Boston-versus-Quincy comparison, call the Boston Assessing Department and confirm your specific closing date against their current eligibility window before you treat the savings as certain.
What does the commute from Quincy to Boston actually cost?
$90 a month if you walk or get dropped at the station, and closer to $270 a month if you drive and park at an MBTA garage five days a week.
Quincy has four Red Line stations: North Quincy, Wollaston, Quincy Center, and Quincy Adams. A monthly LinkPass covering subway and local bus is $90. Parking at Quincy Adams runs $9 on weekdays and $3 on weekends, which comes to about $180 for 20 weekday park-and-ride days before any extra trips. MBTA fares and parking rates are subject to change, so check mbta.com before you build them into a budget.
Read that against the mortgage difference. Even at the higher $270 figure, the commute cost consumes under a third of the roughly $942 monthly payment gap. You are still ahead on cash. What you spend instead is time, and no one can price that for you.
What about parking and car ownership?
Off-street parking is more common in Quincy than in many Boston neighborhoods, but buyers should verify whether a space is deeded, exclusive use, assigned, leased, or subject to condominium rules. Parking varies significantly by neighborhood, building age, association documents, and unit type in both cities, and in high-demand Boston neighborhoods a deeded space can carry a substantial price of its own. If you own a car and you are comparing a Quincy home that includes parking to a Boston condo that does not, add the Boston parking cost to the Boston column before deciding the two are close.
Massachusetts motor vehicle excise is set statewide at $25 per $1,000 of vehicle valuation and is billed by the community where the vehicle is usually garaged, so that line does not favor either city. Note that the taxable valuation comes from the statutory vehicle-value schedule rather than current market value. Auto insurance premiums do vary by garaging address, so ask your agent to quote both addresses before you commit.
Is the overall cost of living really cheaper in Quincy?
Modestly, and less than most people expect. Cost-of-living comparison tools such as BestPlaces have put Boston at roughly 7.9% more expensive than Quincy overall. Treat that as a directional signal rather than a personal budget. These tools use modeled household baskets and may not reflect what you actually spend.
The more defensible statement is this: housing is usually the largest driver of the affordability gap between the two cities, while non-housing expenses vary by household and commute. Quincy sits inside the same metro economy and draws from the same labor pool, so groceries, utilities, health care, and everyday services track close to Boston's. Quincy is not a cheaper region. It is the same region at a lower entry price for housing.
What do you give up by buying in Quincy instead of Boston?
Density and immediacy, mostly. Quincy Center, North Quincy, and Wollaston are genuinely walkable to a T stop, groceries, and restaurants, but the density thins out as you move toward Houghs Neck, Squantum, Germantown, and West Quincy, and those areas generally assume you own a car.
You also give up the spontaneity of being in the city. A roughly 20 to 25 minute Red Line ride is easy on a Tuesday morning and less appealing at 11 p.m. on a Friday. Buyers who move from Boston to Quincy and regret it almost always cite that, not the house.
What you often gain is square footage, outdoor space, included parking, and a wider field of small multi-family options. Quincy may offer more attainable two- and three-family properties than many higher-priced Boston neighborhoods, though opportunities and pricing vary widely by condition, location, rents, and zoning, and some Boston neighborhoods still have multi-family inventory priced comparably to particular Quincy properties.
Which Quincy neighborhoods make the most sense for a buyer coming from Boston?
It depends on which part of Boston you are leaving and how much you rely on the T. Competitive properties in transit-accessible Quincy neighborhoods can attract multiple offers, but competition varies sharply by price point, condition, property type, and neighborhood, so treat the guidance below as a starting point rather than a ranking.
| If you are coming from | Consider in Quincy | Why |
|---|---|---|
| South Boston or the Seaport, car-light, want to stay on the T | North Quincy or Wollaston | Both sit within walking distance of a Red Line stop and carry condo and small multi-family inventory, and North Quincy is the closest Quincy station to Boston on the line |
| Dorchester or Savin Hill, want a single family with a yard under $800,000 | South Quincy or West Quincy | More single-family stock and off-street parking than the transit-dense pockets, though West Quincy pricing has firmed and is no longer the value play it once was |
| Jamaica Plain or Roslindale, driving most days, want space | Quincy Point or Germantown | Lower entry pricing per square foot, more house for the money, and easier car ownership than most Boston equivalents |
| A downtown or Back Bay condo, want water views and low maintenance | Marina Bay or Squantum | Waterfront condo living with parking typically included, at a premium to the Quincy citywide average |
| Anywhere in Boston, want a 2- or 3-family to offset the payment | Quincy Center, Quincy Point, or Wollaston | The most consistent concentration of small multi-family inventory in the city, with steady rental demand near transit |
The Bottom Line
Buying in Quincy instead of Boston saves you roughly $36,600 in down payment and roughly $942 a month in principal and interest on a median-priced home. That is real money, and it is the reason the Boston-to-Quincy move keeps happening.
Just do not assume the savings extend to every line. Boston's residential exemption means a qualifying owner occupant there can pay less property tax than you will in Quincy on a comparable assessment, and everyday costs in Quincy run close to Boston's because it is the same metro. The Quincy advantage is concentrated in what you pay for the house and what you get for it: more square footage, more likelihood of included parking, and a wider field of small multi-family options.
Run the comparison on two specific properties, not on two city medians. The medians tell you the gap exists. Only the actual assessments, the actual condo fees, and the actual parking situation tell you what your month will look like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Quincy cheaper than Boston overall?
Directionally yes. Cost-of-living tools such as BestPlaces have put Boston at roughly 7.9% more expensive than Quincy, but housing drives nearly all of that difference. Groceries, utilities, and services in Quincy track close to Boston prices because Quincy is part of the same metro economy.
How much are property taxes in Quincy, MA compared to Boston?
For fiscal year 2026, Quincy's residential rate was $11.78 per $1,000 of assessed value and Boston's was $12.40. Boston reduced the taxable assessment for qualifying owner occupants by $351,108 through its residential exemption, and Quincy has no comparable general exemption. On a $700,000 assessment, the Quincy bill works out to about $8,246 and the qualified Boston owner-occupant bill to about $4,326. Fiscal year 2027 rates had not been certified as of September 2026.
Does Quincy have a residential exemption for owner occupants?
No. Quincy has not adopted a broad citywide owner-occupant residential exemption. It does offer targeted statutory exemptions for qualifying seniors, veterans, surviving spouses or minor children with a deceased parent, and legally blind residents, and those applications must be filed annually with the Quincy Assessors Office.
How long is the commute from Quincy to Boston on the Red Line?
Quincy has four Red Line stations, and the ride from Quincy Center into downtown Boston generally runs in the 20 to 25 minute range outside of service disruptions. A monthly LinkPass is $90, and parking at Quincy Adams adds $9 per weekday if you drive to the station. MBTA fares and parking rates are subject to change.
Can I get more house in Quincy for the same money?
Generally yes. At $476 per square foot in Quincy versus $681 in Boston, a $700,000 budget buys roughly 1,470 square feet in Quincy compared to roughly 1,030 square feet in Boston, and the Quincy home is more likely to include off-street parking. Price per square foot is a market-level benchmark, so confirm the comparison on specific properties before you rely on it.
If you are weighing a move from Boston to Quincy and want the numbers run on two specific properties instead of two city medians, reach out through the contact page and I will put the comparison together with you.