Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0Measured against area pay, Carlisle costs less to live in than 58% of U.S. towns
It ranks #1 of 282 in Massachusetts for affordability. Up 1.2% in a year, 99% above the Massachusetts typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area ($116K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade compares costs with what households across the Boston metro earn ($116K, Census 2020–24). The typical home costs 9.5 years of metro income, and 77% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1.3Mtypical home, 99% above the Massachusetts typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,560a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 108prices across the Boston metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 148)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 9.5 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$116K, Boston-area income
- 14%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 17%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Carlisle’s housing numbers say
Nearly every household owns
94% of Carlisle households own their home, against 63% across Massachusetts. There are only 113 renter households, so rentals are scarce. Property taxes ↓
Renting costs far less than owning
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,560 a month. Owning the typical Carlisle home, with 20% down at the calculator’s rate, runs about $7,980 with tax and insurance: 3 times as much. Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Carlisle’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Carlisle is more affordable than 58% of U.S. towns, #1 of 282 in Massachusetts. Home prices pull the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Massachusetts: up 29.5% in five years, against 25.7% statewide (Zillow).
Up 29.5% in five years
Faster than Massachusetts (25.7%).
Show as a table
| January | Carlisle | Massachusetts |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $782,000 | $378,000 |
| 2018 | $798,000 | $402,000 |
| 2019 | $813,000 | $421,000 |
| 2020 | $817,000 | $433,000 |
| 2021 | $893,000 | $479,000 |
| 2022 | $1,030,000 | $529,000 |
| 2023 | $1,134,000 | $565,000 |
| 2024 | $1,230,000 | $609,000 |
| 2025 | $1,287,000 | $640,000 |
| 2026 | $1,305,000 | $650,000 |
| September 2026 | $1,301,000 | $655,000 |
A typical Carlisle home worth $774K in October 2016 is worth about $1.3M today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 6 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 9.5 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Carlisle’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $860K short of a typical Carlisle home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,560 a month here, $5,420 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, the Massachusetts typical property tax (1.07% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,560
Renters already here pay a median of $1,313, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
13 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 13 new homes in Carlisle in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $4.6 million to build. That's 2.5 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Massachusetts (1.8). Over the past 10 years, Carlisle has permitted 85 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Carlisle gained 385 residents while 120 new homes were permitted: about 3.2 new residents per new home, about the same as across Massachusetts (3.4).
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 2 | 2 | 0 | $466,000 |
| 2025 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2024 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $3.9 million |
| 2023 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $4.5 million |
| 2022 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2020 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $6.2 million |
| 2019 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $7.4 million |
| 2018 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $9.3 million |
| 2017 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $6 million |
| 2016 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $5.3 million |
| 2015 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $7.2 million |
| 2014 | 40 | 14 | 26 | $19.2 million |
| 2013 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $7.8 million |
| 2012 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $5.3 million |
| 2011 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $5.9 million |
| 2010 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $4 million |
| 2009 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $7.9 million |
| 2008 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $1.7 million |
| 2007 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2006 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $8.9 million |
| 2005 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $14 million |
| 2004 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $13.2 million |
| 2003 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $5.9 million |
| 2002 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $9.8 million |
| 2001 | 25 | 25 | 0 | $14.3 million |
| 2000 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $14.6 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
High tax bills, but a low tax rate
The median bill is $10,000+ (Massachusetts: $5,992), because homes cost more. As a share of value it’s 0.91%+ a year, against 1.07% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Carlisle
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, or Massachusetts. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 108 | MA 106 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 100 | MA 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 149 | MA 152 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 104 | MA 103 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Carlisle vs. its neighbors
Of the 7 towns here with a Zillow value, Carlisle has the 6th-lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle | B | $1.3M | $1.1M | 0.91%+ | $2,560 |
| Bedford | D | $1.0M | $899K | 1.11%+ | $3,420 |
| Billerica | D | $697K | $612K | 1.04% | $2,770 |
| Chelmsford | D | $674K | $594K | 1.36% | $2,770 |
| Acton | D | $859K | $807K | 1.24%+ | $2,620 |
| Concord | D− | $1.4M | $1.2M | 0.83%+ | $3,510 |
| Westford | D | $827K | $749K | 1.30% | $3,450 |
“+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that.
Questions about the cost of living in Carlisle
Is Carlisle expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Carlisle costs less than 58% of U.S. towns: a B for cost of living, #1 of 282 in Massachusetts. The typical home costs 9.5 years of the median household income of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area ($116K).
How much does a house cost in Carlisle?
About $1.3M, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 1.2% in a year. The Massachusetts typical home is $655K.
What salary do you need to live in Carlisle?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $342,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $7,980 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $102,000.
How much is rent in Carlisle?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,560 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,313 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Carlisle?
The median bill is $10,000+ a year, 0.91% of the median home value (Massachusetts: $5,992, 1.07%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Carlisle going up?
Yes: up 1.2% in the past year and 29.5% in five years, against 25.7% across Massachusetts (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Carlisle buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.