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A new cost-of-living release should make any Massachusetts resident do a double take. The Missouri Economic Research & Information Center (MERIC) shows the Bay State’s price level far above the national norm. For families feeling squeezed, those numbers explain why the mortgage payments, electric bills, and grocery tabs keep climbing while the political class pats itself on the back.
MERIC data: Massachusetts is sky-high
The recent MERIC (C2ER) state index puts Massachusetts at a composite score of 148.6 — roughly 48–49% above the U.S. baseline of 100. That is not a rounding error. MERIC’s component breakdown makes the real pain clear: housing clocks in near an index of 215.6, and utilities around 156.0. In plain terms, shelter and energy are the big drivers pushing Massachusetts toward the top of the “most expensive” list.
Why families are getting crushed
Meanwhile, household finances aren’t keeping pace. The Census’ American Community Survey shows median household income in Massachusetts at about $106,539 in the latest estimate, a small decline from the prior year. Private‑sector employment is only roughly back to pre‑pandemic levels — and in some tallies it remains a hair below 2019. Put that together with housing market math that pegs the income needed to buy a typical single‑family home well north of $180,000 and you see the problem: most households simply can’t afford the local sticker price.
Policy choices and migration: who’s to blame?
Now comes the political part, and yes, it gets blunt. Governor Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu run a state and city that have embraced big, public-facing policy choices — from shelter and emergency housing programs to regulatory approaches that constrain new housing supply. Critics argue those decisions, in combination with a surge of arrivals in recent years, have increased demand where supply is tight, and shifted costs onto residents. To be clear: MERIC gives us the numbers; it does not hand out blame. But voters don’t need an academic paper to see that policy choices matter when housing and utility bills climb while incomes slip.
Don’t let “compassion” become a real‑estate tax
There is nothing wrong with helping people in need. There is something wrong with policies that help on paper while pushing long‑term residents out because rents and taxes go up. When compassion becomes a program with no plan to increase housing supply, fix permitting, or protect ratepayers from energy policy price shocks, the compassionate act becomes an unaffordable one for working families.
What should change — and fast
If Republican and conservative voters want results, start with obvious remedies: speed up housing permits and lower unnecessary regulations that choke new supply, make utility-rate processes more transparent and accountable, and demand clear budgets for shelter programs so taxpayers and residents know who pays for what. Massachusetts has the talent and capital to be affordable again, but it will take political courage to prioritize families over short-term political optics. Otherwise, the latest MERIC report will look less like a warning and more like a permanent new reality.
