What is the cheapest city to buy a house in Massachusetts?

Pittsfield, with a median closed price of $309,750 over its reporting window, among Massachusetts cities where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the city limits.

Are these asking prices or sale prices?

Closed sale prices. Every price median is the price homes actually closed at inside the municipal boundary, not a listing price. The one column measured differently is realized appreciation, which uses the postal city, as the note under the table says.

Why does a cheap city show a high price per square foot?

Because the ranking median covers every property type that closed, condos and multi-family included, while the $/sqft column is single-family houses only. In cities where most sales are condos, the median price is low and the house $/sqft can still be high.

Is the appreciation figure a forecast?

No. It is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home, on repeat-sale pairs. It is historical and nominal, and it says what happened, not what will.

Cheapest Cities to Buy a House in Massachusetts (2026)

Ranked cheapest first by median closed price, this list covers Massachusetts cities with at least 100 tracked closings inside the city line. A low entry price only means something next to the per-square-foot figure, the realized appreciation and the time to contract, so those sit in the same table.

The ranking

#	City	Median closed price	Houses $/sqft	Realized appreciation	Days to contract	Closings	Window
1	Pittsfield	$309,750	$213	5.17%/yr	25	298	six months
2	Springfield	$312,000	$225	5.98%/yr	23	839	six months
3	Chicopee	$316,750	$248	4.94%/yr	23	296	six months
4	Fitchburg	$430,000	$266	7.19%/yr	24	275	six months
5	New Bedford	$475,000	$311	7.34%/yr	26	347	six months
6	Worcester	$481,000	$291	6.83%/yr	20	802	six months
7	Taunton	$499,900	$331	6.00%/yr	23	355	six months
8	Lowell	$500,000	$339	6.12%/yr	21	417	six months
8	Fall River	$500,000	$258	6.74%/yr	36	371	six months
10	Plymouth	$509,500	$370	5.68%/yr	34	128	12 months
11	Attleboro	$525,000	$328	5.70%/yr	21	262	six months
11	Brockton	$525,000	$338	6.42%/yr	21	377	six months
13	Haverhill	$535,000	$326	6.61%/yr	21	439	six months
14	Milford	$545,000	$306	5.47%/yr	22	172	six months
15	North Attleboro	$590,000	$322	n/a	21	180	six months

1. Pittsfield, $309,750

The median closed price in Pittsfield is $309,750 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 46 percent of the state figure. 298 closings sit behind that figure, about 50 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $213, measured on 225 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 5.17 percent a year between those sales, on 1,074 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home took 25 days to go under contract, across 218 listed closings. Full detail is on the Pittsfield market page.

2. Springfield, $312,000

The median closed price in Springfield is $312,000 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 47 percent of the state figure. Resideline tracked 839 closings there, roughly 140 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $225, measured on 571 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 5.98 percent a year between those sales, on 2,359 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home was under contract in 23 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Springfield market page.

3. Chicopee, $316,750

Homes in Chicopee closed at a median of $316,750 over the last six months, about 47 percent of the Massachusetts statewide median. Resideline tracked 296 closings there, roughly 49 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $248 per square foot across 176 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 4.94 percent a year between those sales, on 720 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 23 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Chicopee market page.

4. Fitchburg, $430,000

The median closed price in Fitchburg is $430,000 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 64 percent of the state figure. 275 closings sit behind that figure, about 46 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $266, measured on 156 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 7.19 percent a year (994 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 24 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Fitchburg market page.

5. New Bedford, $475,000

Homes in New Bedford closed at a median of $475,000 over the last six months, about 71 percent of the Massachusetts statewide median. 347 closings sit behind that figure, about 58 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $311, measured on 211 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 7.34 percent a year (1,660 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home took 26 days to go under contract, across 183 listed closings. Full detail is on the New Bedford market page.

6. Worcester, $481,000

Worcester's median closed price over the last six months was $481,000, around 72 percent of what the typical Massachusetts sale closed at. Resideline tracked 802 closings there, roughly 134 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $291, measured on 475 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 6.83 percent a year between those sales, on 2,978 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home was under contract in 20 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Worcester market page.

7. Taunton, $499,900

Homes in Taunton closed at a median of $499,900 over the last six months, about 75 percent of the Massachusetts statewide median. 355 closings sit behind that figure, about 59 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $331, measured on 194 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 6.00 percent a year (1,450 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 23 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the Taunton market page.

8. Lowell, $500,000

The median closed price in Lowell is $500,000 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 75 percent of the state figure. Resideline tracked 417 closings there, roughly 70 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $339, measured on 169 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 6.12 percent a year (1,104 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 21 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Lowell market page.

8. Fall River, $500,000

Fall River's median closed price over the last six months was $500,000, around 75 percent of what the typical Massachusetts sale closed at. Resideline tracked 371 closings there, roughly 62 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $258 per square foot across 171 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 6.74 percent a year (1,367 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home took 36 days to go under contract, across 158 listed closings. Full detail is on the Fall River market page.

10. Plymouth, $509,500

The median closed price in Plymouth is $509,500 across the last 12 months, which puts it at roughly 76 percent of the state figure. Only 128 homes closed in the window, roughly 11 a month, so the median is directional and the resale market is shallow. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $370, measured on 42 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 5.68 percent a year (1,315 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 34 days. Full detail is on the Plymouth market page.

11. Attleboro, $525,000

Attleboro's median closed price over the last six months was $525,000, around 78 percent of what the typical Massachusetts sale closed at. 262 closings sit behind that figure, about 44 a month, enough to price against. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $328, measured on 174 sales. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 5.70 percent a year between those sales, on 760 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home was under contract in 21 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Attleboro market page.

11. Brockton, $525,000

Brockton's median closed price over the last six months was $525,000, around 78 percent of what the typical Massachusetts sale closed at. Resideline tracked 377 closings there, roughly 63 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $338 per square foot across 281 sales with usable living area. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 6.42 percent a year (1,518 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 21 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. About 6.5 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Brockton market page.

13. Haverhill, $535,000

The median closed price in Haverhill is $535,000 across the last six months, which puts it at roughly 80 percent of the state figure. Resideline tracked 439 closings there, roughly 73 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $326, measured on 213 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 6.61 percent a year (1,181 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 21 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Haverhill market page.

14. Milford, $545,000

Homes in Milford closed at a median of $545,000 over the last six months, about 81 percent of the Massachusetts statewide median. Resideline tracked 172 closings there, roughly 29 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $306, measured on 98 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 5.47 percent a year (509 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 22 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Milford market page.

15. North Attleboro, $590,000

Homes in North Attleboro closed at a median of $590,000 over the last six months, about 88 percent of the Massachusetts statewide median. Resideline tracked 180 closings there, roughly 30 a month. Single-family houses closed at a median of $322 per square foot across 118 sales with usable living area. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 21 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. Full detail is on the North Attleboro market page.

Note: realized appreciation is the one column measured on the postal city, from repeat sales of the same home across the ZIP codes that share the city's name; every other figure is confined to the municipal boundary.

How to read this list

Treat it as a shortlist. A citywide median cannot price a specific address, and the cheapest city on paper can be the most expensive per square foot or the slowest to resell. Run any address here through Resideline for the comparable sales behind its value.

Figures last updated September 5, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked. Appreciation is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home; it is historical, nominal and not a projection.