Cambridge vs Ithaca
The short version
- Ithaca is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 5% lower than in the Cambridge area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $342,700 in Ithaca and $1,092,100 in Cambridge.
- Households earn more in Cambridge ($130,748 vs $48,784 median).
- Cambridge has the warmer winter: January highs of 37°F vs 31°F.
- Ithaca gets far more snow: 63 inches a year vs 49.
- Commutes are shorter in Ithaca (19 vs 26 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Cambridge, MA | Ithaca, NY | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 122,588 | 33,632 |
| Growth since 2020 | +3.5% | +4.8% |
| People per square mile | 19,163 | 6,241 |
| Median age | 30.4 | 23.3 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 81% | 68% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $130,748 | $48,784 |
| Median home value | $1,092,100 | $342,700 |
| Home value to income | 8.4× | 7.0× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $2,787 | $1,447 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 108.3 | 103.3 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 148.4 | 128.4 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $81,200 | $77,500 |
| Homeowners | 34% | 30% |
| Top state income tax | 9% | 10.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.25% | 8.54% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 25.8 | 18.7 |
| Work from home | 31% | 25% |
| Take public transit | 18% | 9% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 3.4% | 7.3% |
| Poverty rate | 12.8% | 30.4% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 37° / 23° | 31° / 15° |
| July high / low | 82° / 66° | 80° / 58° |
| Precipitation per year | 44 in | 38 in |
| Snowfall per year | 49 in | 63 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 14 | 5 |
| Nights below freezing | 92 | 148 |
| Comfortable months | 6 | 5 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively High | Relatively Low |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 96.9 | 73.9 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 71% | 93% |
| Home prices, past year | +2.8% | -5.2% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +39.7% | +41.6% |
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: Cambridge: May to October. Ithaca: May to September.
Full monthly tables: Cambridge weather by month and Ithaca weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $81,200 in Cambridge and $77,500 in Ithaca. Moving from Cambridge to Ithaca, you would need about $71,600 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Cambridge and Ithaca
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Cambridge and Ithaca.
Which would you pick?
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