Cambridge, MA Average Home Price (2026)
The average home price in Cambridge is about $1,066,000 (the 2026 median, at ~$917/sq ft) — 269% more expensive than the typical U.S. home. Below: average prices by home size, what it costs to live here, and a free estimator for your own address.
Thinking of moving to Cambridge?
Cambridge sits in Middlesex County, where the typical home runs $814,500.
Here’s what the numbers say about housing costs in Cambridge. A typical home runs about $1,066,000, which is 269% more expensive than the national median and 73% more expensive than the Massachusetts average. At roughly $917 per square foot, a median budget here buys you around 1,160 sq ft of home.
Prices swing a lot by neighborhood: across Cambridge’s 5 ZIP codes, the most affordable is 02141 (~$900,000) and the priciest is 02142 (~$1,311,000) — roughly a 1.5× difference. If you’re relocating, that spread is where the real budgeting happens, so it pays to target ZIP by ZIP rather than the citywide average.
Cambridge home value by size
Using the local rate of about $917 per square foot, here’s a rough estimate by home size. Condition, lot, and exact location move these meaningfully.
| Home size | Estimated value |
|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | $917,000 |
| 1,500 sq ft | $1,375,500 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $1,834,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft | $2,292,500 |
| 3,000 sq ft | $2,751,000 |
Home value appreciation in Cambridge
Home prices in Cambridge have risen about 87% over the last 10 years (≈6.4% a year) and +90.4% over 20 years, according to the FHFA house price index through 2025. The most recent year came in at +3.3% — still rising. A home worth $1,066,000 today was worth roughly $571,582 ten years ago.
See where that trend takes a specific home with the home appreciation calculator — statewide, Massachusetts is +87.1% over the same 10 years. Past appreciation is a track record, not a forecast; local prices can fall.
Calculators for Cambridge
Run the numbers for Cambridge with the local rates already filled in — change any input to test your own situation.
Salary needed to buy a home in Cambridge
To buy the typical $1,066,000 home in Cambridge with 20% down, you need a household income of roughly $290,000 a year (about $6,770 a month for the mortgage, taxes, and insurance). With 10% down the bar rises to about $345,000, because the loan is bigger and mortgage insurance kicks in.
| Down payment | Cash down | Monthly payment | Income needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% (+PMI) | $53,300 | $8,410/mo | $360,000/yr |
| 10% (+PMI) | $106,600 | $8,040/mo | $345,000/yr |
| 20% | $213,200 | $6,770/mo | $290,000/yr |
Assumes a 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.5%, property tax at 1.1% and insurance at 0.45% of value per year, PMI of 0.75% on loans with less than 20% down, and the standard 28% housing-to-income rule. Your rate, taxes, and HOA will move these — run your own numbers in the mortgage calculator.
What your budget buys in Cambridge
At about $917 per square foot, here is roughly how much home different budgets get you in Cambridge:
| Budget | Approx. size | What that looks like locally |
|---|---|---|
| $500k | 550 sq ft | below the local median — condos, smaller or older homes |
| $600k | 650 sq ft | below the local median — condos, smaller or older homes |
| $750k | 820 sq ft | below the local median — condos, smaller or older homes |
| $1.00M | 1090 sq ft | around the typical home here |
| $1.50M | 1640 sq ft | above the median — larger homes or the pricier ZIPs |
Wondering where that budget goes further? The relocation calculator ranks hundreds of U.S. cities by what the same money buys — it opens pre-filled with a typical Cambridge home so you can see where a Cambridge budget goes further.
Cambridge home prices by ZIP code
Every Cambridge ZIP code we track, from the priciest to the most affordable. Click a ZIP for its own page with price per square foot, value by home size, and the salary needed to buy there.
| ZIP code | Typical home value | $ / sq ft | vs Cambridge median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02142 | $1,311,000 | $1110 | +23% |
| 02138 | $1,134,000 | $947 | +6% |
| 02140 | $1,066,000 | $892 | +0% |
| 02139 | $991,000 | $913 | -7% |
| 02141 | $900,000 | $917 | -16% |
Moving to Cambridge from somewhere else? Compare your current home against Cambridge prices — enter your ZIP and the calculator shows whether your budget buys more or less here.
Living in Cambridge: what to know before you move
Home prices tell you what it costs to buy in Cambridge, but daily life depends on much more. On housing alone, a typical home here runs $1,066,000 (~$917/sq ft), 269% more expensive than the national median — making Cambridge relatively expensive to buy in. That’s usually the biggest line in a household budget, but it’s only part of the picture. Here’s where to research the things home values don’t capture:
- Schools. School quality varies widely by neighborhood and shapes both family life and resale value. Check Cambridge school ratings and attendance zones on GreatSchools.
- Cost of living. Beyond the mortgage, weigh groceries, utilities, healthcare, and local taxes. Compare Cambridge’s cost of living.
- Safety. Crime and safety differ block to block, so check local data before settling on an area. Review Cambridge crime and safety stats.
- The bigger picture. For history, economy, climate, and local context, read about Cambridge on Wikipedia.
We specialize in housing data; the links above go to independent sources so you can verify schools, safety, and cost of living for yourself — the details that matter most when you’re choosing where to live.
Estimate your specific home in Cambridge
Enter your ZIP and size for an instant estimate tailored to your exact area:
Cambridge home prices: frequently asked
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Grow your home’s value in Cambridge
Use our Increase Home Value calculator to see which improvements add the most, or read the pre-sale projects that actually pay off. See how Cambridge stacks up against other Massachusetts cities on the Massachusetts home values page, or browse the full U.S. directory.
Directional estimates from public market data (Realtor.com & Zillow research), not appraisals. Actual values vary by home and change over time.
Nearby cities
Home prices in cities near Cambridge: