State rental market reference · Data updated October 18, 2026
Massachusetts rental market for DSCR investors: rent, taxes and insurance by county
What a rental in Massachusetts rents for, what it costs to carry, and whether it stays rented, from official data for all 14 counties. Read it before you price a deal here.
Massachusetts at a glance
What does a rental rent for?
$3,008 a month
HUD's FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent where most of Massachusetts's renters live, from $1,704 (Berkshire County) to $3,583 (Nantucket County). It is the government figure for a modest 2-bedroom unit, utilities included, not the rent for a house.
What will property taxes cost?
1.07% of value a year
Homeowners in Massachusetts pay a median $5,992 a year on a median home value of $562,100 (Census ACS 2020–2024). A rental can be taxed at a different rate than an owner's home; the local tax bill is the real number.
What will insurance cost?
$1,470 a year
The median that homeowners with a mortgage in Massachusetts report paying for homeowners insurance (Census ACS 2020–2024). It is not a landlord quote: a rental policy usually costs more, and flood cover is extra.
Will it stay rented?
3.5% rental vacancy
Share of Massachusetts's rental homes vacant and for rent (Census ACS 2020–2024), across 1,043,884 renter households. Lower means rentals fill faster.
Are jobs growing?
Employment down 1.4% in a year
Employed residents in August 2026 against a year earlier; unemployment 4.4% (BLS, not seasonally adjusted, so compare the same month a year apart).
Is new supply coming?
12,477 homes permitted in 2025
About 4.5 new homes per 1,000 households; 40% single-family (Census Building Permits Survey). More new homes means more competition for tenants and buyers.
How often does it flood?
11,717 flood claims since 2005
National Flood Insurance Program claims on properties in Massachusetts since 2005, $222.9 million paid (FEMA). Claims show where water has reached insured buildings; they are not a flood map, so check the FEMA flood zone for the address.
What it means for a DSCR rental in Massachusetts
A lender's DSCR is the monthly rent divided by the full monthly payment: principal, interest, property taxes, insurance and any HOA dues. Many lenders accept 1.00x; 1.20x leaves a cushion.
Take a home at Massachusetts's median value of $562,100, bought with 25% down on a 7.5% 30-year loan, with the state's typical tax rate and insurance:
- Principal and interest ($421,575 loan)
- $2,948
- Property taxes
- $501
- Insurance
- $123
- Full monthly payment
- $3,571
- Rent for a 1.20x DSCR
- $4,290 a month
The government 2-bedroom figure where most of Massachusetts's renters live is $3,008 a month, below the $4,290 that home needs. A house usually rents for more than a 2-bedroom unit, so price the house you are looking at with its own rent. The last column of the table below gives the same figure for each county.
Rules and costs a landlord faces in Massachusetts
Each line quotes the official source it comes from and the date it was last checked. These are general rules, not legal advice; local rules can add to them.
- How long before you can file to evict for unpaid rent?
14 calendar days' notice for unpaid rent before an eviction can be filed.
Upon the neglect or refusal to pay the rent due under a written lease, fourteen days' notice to quit, given in writing by the landlord to the tenant, shall be sufficient to determine the lease
Massachusetts General Court, checked October 19, 2026
- How large a security deposit can you take?
Up to one month's rent.
no lessor or agent of the lessor may require a tenant or prospective tenant to pay, to the lessor or to an agent of the lessor, any amount in excess of the following: ... (iii) a security deposit equal to the first month's rent
Massachusetts General Court, checked October 19, 2026
- How fast must the deposit come back?
Within 30 days after the tenancy ends.
The lessor shall, within thirty days after the termination of occupancy under a tenancy-at-will or the end of the tenancy as specified in a valid written lease agreement, return to the tenant the security deposit or any balance thereof
Massachusetts General Court, checked October 19, 2026
- Can rents be capped?
State law bars cities and counties from capping rents.
No city or town may enact, maintain or enforce rent control of any kind, except that any city or town that accepts this chapter may adopt rent control regulation that provides:
Massachusetts General Court, checked October 19, 2026
- Is a rental taxed like the owner's home?
A rental does not get the owner's homestead benefit.
there shall be an exemption equal to not more than 35 per cent of the average assessed value of all Class One, residential, parcels ... provided, however, that such an exemption shall be applied only to the principal residence of a taxpayer
Massachusetts Legislature (General Laws of Massachusetts), checked October 19, 2026
Market hubs in Massachusetts
DSCRInfo does not publish a monthly market hub in Massachusetts yet. The figures above and the table below cover every county; the market hubs cover other states.
Massachusetts by county
All 14 counties, most renter households first. "Rent for 1.20x" is the monthly rent a home at that county's median value needs on the example loan above. A dash means the source publishes no reliable figure there.
| County | 2-bed FMR | Property tax | Insurance / yr | Rental vacancy | Jobs, 1 yr | Permits | Flood claims | Rent for 1.20x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex County | $2,383–$3,008 | 1.03% | $1,450 | 3.4% | -1.4% | 2,341 | 1,589 | $5,470 |
| Suffolk County | $3,008 | 0.66% | $1,510 | 4.5% | -1.9% | 2,338 | 783 | $5,060 |
| Worcester County | $1,659–$2,499 | 1.28% | $1,350 | 3.3% | -0.2% | 1,690 | 428 | $3,340 |
| Essex County | $2,367–$3,008 | 1.04% | $1,570 | 2.6% | -1.4% | 942 | 2,353 | $4,700 |
| Norfolk County | $2,409–$3,008 | 1.06% | $1,570 | 4.0% | -1.9% | 1,194 | 1,296 | $5,190 |
| Bristol County | $1,668–$2,589 | 1.07% | $1,570 | 2.1% | -1.6% | 1,156 | 534 | $3,480 |
| Hampden County | $1,800 | 1.49% | $1,240 | 3.7% | -0.7% | 318 | 117 | $2,450 |
| Plymouth County | $2,409–$3,008 | 1.17% | $1,730 | 2.0% | -1.7% | 931 | 2,984 | $4,320 |
| Barnstable County | $2,488 | 0.67% | $2,120 | 4.7% | -1.6% | 630 | 923 | $4,590 |
| Hampshire County | $2,034 | 1.43% | $1,250 | 6.5% | -0.2% | 291 | 105 | $3,140 |
| Berkshire County | $1,704–$1,763 | 1.32% | $1,180 | 3.0% | -1.3% | 149 | 223 | $2,440 |
| Franklin County | $1,882 | 1.43% | $1,240 | 1.0% | -3.2% | 64 | 90 | $2,660 |
| Nantucket County | $3,583 | 0.25% | $3,060 | 5.1% | +0.4% | 250 | 235 | $10,730 |
| Dukes County | $2,010 | 0.50% | $3,190 | 6.5% | -1.9% | 183 | 28 | $8,240 |
Where these numbers come from
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rents, in effect from October 1, 2026: the rent and utilities of a modest 2-bedroom unit, set for housing vouchers. It is not a house rent. Where HUD publishes by town (New England), the county shows the range. HUD Fair Market Rents
- Property tax, insurance, vacancy and home value
- Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. Property tax is the median tax paid divided by the median home value of owner-occupied homes. Insurance is the median that owners with a mortgage report paying, not a landlord quote. Rental vacancy is homes vacant for rent divided by all rental homes. Figures from too few homes are left blank. American Community Survey
- Jobs
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics: employed residents in August 2026 against the same month a year earlier, not seasonally adjusted. BLS LAUS
- Permits
- Census Building Permits Survey: new housing units authorized in 2025, all building sizes. Building Permits Survey
- Flood claims
- FEMA National Flood Insurance Program claims with a loss in 2005 or later, and the net amount paid. Only insured buildings appear. Check a flood zone
These are screening figures for comparing places, not a quote, an appraisal or a loan offer. Massachusetts total flood payments since 2005: $222.9 million.