Bellevue vs Cambridge
The short version
- Cambridge is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 3% lower than in the Bellevue area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $1,092,100 in Cambridge and $1,340,300 in Bellevue.
- Households earn more in Bellevue ($165,576 vs $130,748 median).
- Bellevue has the warmer winter: January highs of 47°F vs 37°F.
- Cambridge gets far more snow: 49 inches a year vs 4.
- Cambridge is growing faster: +3.5% since 2020 vs +1.5%.
- Washington has no state income tax on wages; Massachusetts's top rate is 9%.
Side by side
| Bellevue, WA | Cambridge, MA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 154,193 | 122,588 |
| Growth since 2020 | +1.5% | +3.5% |
| People per square mile | 4,607 | 19,163 |
| Median age | 38.5 | 30.4 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 72% | 81% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $165,576 | $130,748 |
| Median home value | $1,340,300 | $1,092,100 |
| Home value to income | 8.1× | 8.4× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $2,572 | $2,787 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 111.1 | 108.3 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 151.3 | 148.4 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $83,300 | $81,200 |
| Homeowners | 52% | 34% |
| Top state income tax | None | 9% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.57% | 6.25% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 23.6 | 25.8 |
| Work from home | 36% | 31% |
| Take public transit | 5% | 18% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.2% | 3.4% |
| Poverty rate | 7.2% | 12.8% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 47° / 37° | 37° / 23° |
| July high / low | 77° / 57° | 82° / 66° |
| Precipitation per year | 38 in | 44 in |
| Snowfall per year | 4 in | 49 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 2 | 14 |
| Nights below freezing | 25 | 92 |
| Comfortable months | 5 | 6 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Very High | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 99.7 | 96.9 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 56% | 71% |
| Home prices, past year | +0.3% | +2.8% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +24.6% | +39.7% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Bellevue: May to September. Cambridge: May to October.
Full monthly tables: Bellevue weather by month and Cambridge weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $83,300 in Bellevue and $81,200 in Cambridge. Moving from Bellevue to Cambridge, you would need about $73,100 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Bellevue and Cambridge
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Bellevue and Cambridge.
Which would you pick?
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