Rent Affordability Index
Rent affordability in ZIP 01543 (Massachusetts)
Rent affordability in ZIP 01543 (Massachusetts) works out like this: households earn a median $150,685 while annual rent runs $12,648 — 11.91 times rent. That ranks the ZIP code at the 99.8th percentile, meaning rent takes a smaller share of local income than in 100% of the ZIP codes we score. The index covers rent only, not food, transport or healthcare.
Higher is better: income goes further after rent.
Median household income
$150,685
Annual rent
$12,648
Income to rent ratio
11.91×
National percentile
99.8
Rent share of income
8%
Best-value ZIP codes in Massachusetts
Reading the numbers for 01543
The classic rule of thumb keeps rent under 30% of gross income. Here that threshold sits at $42,160 of household income; anything below it means rent is taking more than a comfortable share.
Income and rent both come from the same American Community Survey 5-year release, so they are already expressed in the same dollars and we apply no inflation adjustment on top. The percentile is computed across every ZIP code with at least 5,000 residents.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (ZCTA median gross rent and median household income). Latest observation 2026-09-01.