Is it More Expensive to Live in MetroWest than Boston?

Some people move to the MetroWest area to have easy access to Boston, others move to the local area to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city. Whatever your reason is for living in the MetroWest area is, you're paying a premium to live here according to one study.

The Worcester Business Journal reports that researchers at Framingham State University's MetroWest Economic Research Center (MERC) found the cost of living in MetroWest to be more than 43 percent higher than the national average and three percent higher than the cost of living in Boston.

MERC's study focused on the nine towns of Ashland, Framingham, Holliston Hopkinton, Natick, Sherborn, Sudbury and Wayland and found that housing costs drive the cost of living in the area.

"As of April 2012, housing costs [in the MetroWest area] were more than 103 percent higher than the national average, according to MERC's index, while overall cost of living is 43 percent higher," the Worcester Business Journal reports.

MERC also looked at the Greater MetroWest, which includes the above towns in addition to Hudson, Marlborough, Northborough and Westborough, to compare employment statistics in the region.

"In Feb. 2013, all 13 communities in the group posted a lower unemployment rate than the Massachusetts rate of 6.8 percent and the U.S. rate of 8.1 percent," the Worcester Business Journal reports.