Providence vs Worcester
Metro-area medians — Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area vs Worcester, MA Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Worcester comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 7 clearly-decided measures.
Providence and Worcester cost about the same to live in, but Worcester households earn about 17% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Worcester.
Their widest everyday difference: Worcester has cleaner air on a typical day — a median AQI of 37 versus 42.
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.
On $75,000 for just you, Providence leaves you about $1,737/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.
Choose Worcester for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
- + Air quality (median AQI)
More comparisons
Metros closest to Providence and Worcester on cost, income, size, and education.
Providence vs Worcester — frequently asked
- Is Providence cheaper than Worcester?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Providence and Worcester metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Providence or Worcester?
- Worcester has the higher median household income — $96,602 versus $82,870 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 17% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Providence or Worcester?
- A paycheck stretches further in Worcester. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $94,225 there versus $81,426 in Providence.
- Which has cheaper rent, Providence or Worcester?
- Providence has cheaper rent — a median of $1,396/mo versus $1,563/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).