Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainEven on the area’s higher pay, Sharon costs more to live in than 83% of U.S. towns
It ranks #120 of 282 in Massachusetts for affordability. Up 2.3% in a year, 33% 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 measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Sharon’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($116K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 20% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 49% of renters.
In dollars
- $873Ktypical home, 33% above the Massachusetts typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $3,280a 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
- 6.4 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$116K, Boston-area income
- 24%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 49%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Massachusetts: 52%Census 2020–24
- 20%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
The short version on homes in Sharon
Nearly every household owns
88% of Sharon households own their home, against 63% across Massachusetts. There are 684 renter households. Property taxes ↓
Most new homes are apartments and condos
Of the 401 homes permitted in Sharon’s past 10 years, 75% were in buildings with two or more homes, not single-family houses. New homes ↓
A median income goes further next door
At Sharon’s median income, the calculator’s budget of about $731K falls short here but covers the typical home in Stoughton ($604K), Foxborough ($713K) and Norwood ($728K). 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 September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Sharon’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Sharon is more affordable than 17% of U.S. towns, #120 of 282 in Massachusetts. Home prices pull the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Massachusetts: up 26.2% in five years, against 25.7% statewide (Zillow).
Up 26.2% in five years
About the same pace as Massachusetts (25.7%).
Show as a table
| January | Sharon | Massachusetts |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $557,000 | $378,000 |
| 2018 | $570,000 | $402,000 |
| 2019 | $587,000 | $421,000 |
| 2020 | $589,000 | $433,000 |
| 2021 | $641,000 | $479,000 |
| 2022 | $703,000 | $529,000 |
| 2023 | $748,000 | $565,000 |
| 2024 | $822,000 | $609,000 |
| 2025 | $867,000 | $640,000 |
| 2026 | $864,000 | $650,000 |
| September 2026 | $873,000 | $655,000 |
A typical Sharon home worth $550K in October 2016 is worth about $873K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A seller's market
Supply is tight — about 2.4 months of homes for sale at the current pace. Buyers should expect competition on well-priced homes.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, September 2026.
A typical home costs 6.4 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Sharon’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $431K short of a typical Sharon home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $3,280 a month here, $2,070 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 $3,280
Renters already here pay a median of $2,310, 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.
61 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 61 new homes in Sharon in 2025: 7 single-family houses and 54 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $12 million to build. That's 3.3 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Massachusetts (1.8). Over the past 10 years, Sharon has permitted 401 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Sharon gained 963 residents while 377 new homes were permitted: about 2.6 new residents per new home, fewer than across Massachusetts (3.4): building outpaced growth.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 7 | 4 | 3 | $3.6 million |
| 2025 | 61 | 7 | 54 | $12 million |
| 2024 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $5 million |
| 2023 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $8.3 million |
| 2022 | 24 | 22 | 2 | $11.3 million |
| 2021 | 17 | 15 | 2 | $10.1 million |
| 2020 | 19 | 11 | 8 | $6.3 million |
| 2019 | 13 | 5 | 8 | $4.6 million |
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $7.8 million |
| 2017 | 230 | 5 | 225 | $35 million |
| 2016 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $5.4 million |
| 2015 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2014 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $6.6 million |
| 2013 | 21 | 21 | 0 | $7.1 million |
| 2012 | 32 | 32 | 0 | $9.3 million |
| 2011 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $6.5 million |
| 2010 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $5.4 million |
| 2009 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $4.6 million |
| 2008 | 29 | 5 | 24 | $4.3 million |
| 2007 | 139 | 15 | 124 | $13.7 million |
| 2006 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2.6 million |
| 2005 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $5.1 million |
| 2004 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $4.3 million |
| 2003 | 9 | 9 | 0 | $2.4 million |
| 2002 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $3.9 million |
| 2001 | 25 | 25 | 0 | $5.8 million |
| 2000 | 33 | 33 | 0 | $6 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Massachusetts norm
The median bill is $10,000+ (Massachusetts: $5,992), 1.36%+ of a home’s value 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 Sharon
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.
Sharon vs. its neighbors
Of the 6 towns here with a Zillow value, Sharon 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon | C− | $873K | $737K | 1.36%+ | $3,280 |
| Walpole | D | $774K | $687K | 1.24% | $2,650 |
| Norwood | D | $728K | $652K | 0.94% | $2,820 |
| Stoughton | D | $604K | $524K | 1.19% | $2,750 |
| Canton | D | $799K | $711K | 0.92% | $3,140 |
| Foxborough | D | $713K | $606K | 1.20% | $2,560 |
“+”: 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 Sharon
Is Sharon expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Sharon costs more than 83% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #120 of 282 in Massachusetts. The typical home costs 6.4 years of the median household income of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area ($116K).
How much does a house cost in Sharon?
About $873K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 2.3% in a year. The Massachusetts typical home is $655K.
What salary do you need to live in Sharon?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $229,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $5,350 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $131,000.
How much is rent in Sharon?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $3,280 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $2,310 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Sharon?
The median bill is $10,000+ a year, 1.36% of the median home value (Massachusetts: $5,992, 1.07%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Sharon going up?
Yes: up 2.3% in the past year and 26.2% in five years, against 25.7% across Massachusetts (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Sharon 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, September 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.