Poll: Housing, Transportation Costs Pushing People Out Of Massachusetts

By Chris Lisinski

One in five Bay Staters envisions themselves leaving Massachusetts for another state within the next five years, according to a new poll that found a sizable majority of residents burdened by high housing costs.

More than seven in 10 residents surveyed by the MassINC Polling Group said the amount they pay on housing each month is “somewhat of a burden” (34 percent) or a “very big burden” (37 percent). Eighteen percent of those polled answered housing when asked to name the single biggest issue facing state government, tied for the highest share with migrants and immigration.

And when pollsters asked if participants saw themselves moving in the next five years, 21 percent said they could see themselves leaving Massachusetts altogether.

Among residents who said both their housing and transportation costs pose a “very big” burden, 38 percent are thinking about leaving Massachusetts in the next five years, a higher share than the overall population, pollsters found.

The results are unlikely to come as a surprise on Beacon Hill, where lawmakers are facing pressure from constituents, business leaders and interest groups to boost the housing supply and deliver more affordable options. Previous efforts have done little to slow the trend of rising prices, and lawmakers hope that more state borrowing alongside some policy reforms will finally unlock much-needed production.

MassINC conducted the poll on behalf of advocacy group Transportation for Massachusetts, which has long pushed for more state investment into public transit. Pollsters surveyed 1,408 Massachusetts residents between June 12 and June 30, and they oversampled 300 residents of so-called Gateway Cities and 100 residents of Boston’s Mattapan and Hyde Park neighborhoods.

“The high cost of housing is the biggest crisis facing Massachusetts families — especially renters who are struggling to get by amid skyrocketing rents and high transportation costs,” Rose Webster-Smith, executive director of Springfield No One Leaves and a co-anchor of Homes for All Massachusetts, said in a statement MassINC included with its poll results. “Our state’s housing and transportation systems are failing to meet the basic needs of Massachusetts families, and status quo solutions won’t fix them.”

On the transportation front, 41 percent rated the state’s system in “fair” condition. Five percent called it “excellent,” 28 percent called it “good” and 25 percent called it “poor.” Forty-seven percent of respondents said the public transit near where they live is good enough that they can rely on it, compared with 38 percent who said it’s insufficient.

Respondents were most likely to give Gov. Maura Healey and lawmakers middling grades on transportation. About a third rated Healey’s work on transportation a “C,” the highest share of any letter grade, and the same was the case for their review of how the Legislature has funded transportation infrastructure.

Participants were also most likely to see a status quo at the MBTA under General Manager Phil Eng, who started on the job in April 2023. Twenty-two percent said they think the T is getting better during his tenure, 17 percent said they think it’s getting worse and 43 percent see the agency “about the same as it has been.”

One major transportation reform that’s on the verge of becoming law appears to have broad appeal. The House and Senate voted as part of their compromise fiscal 2025 state budget to fund fare-free trips at all of the state’s 15 regional transit authorities (but not the MBTA), and nearly three-quarters of the residents polled by MassINC strongly or somewhat support the idea.

Pollsters found respondents were more likely to support than oppose a range of strategies to generate new funding for transportation projects, or at least to examine the options.

They told participants that in London and Paris drivers pay a fee to enter central business districts, and recounted the history of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pausing congestion pricing in New York City on the eve of its launch. Asked if Massachusetts should study “ways to use congestion pricing to reduce traffic and raise money for public transit in and around Boston,” 50 percent said yes and 36 percent said no.

Another question noted that other states allow cities and towns to vote on whether to raise local taxes for transportation projects, but Massachusetts does not. Sixty-eight percent of residents said the Bay State should allow local votes on local taxes for transportation, compared to 19 percent who said no.

Forty-seven percent said businesses with “a certain number of employees” should pay a payroll tax to help cover commuting costs, compared to 35 percent who opposed that idea, and 58 percent backed real estate developers paying part of the transportation costs near projects they build, compared to 25 percent who do not want that.

Those ideas and many others to overhaul how government pays for transportation appear all but certain to remain on Beacon Hill’s backburner until at least next year. No major action on new transportation revenues is expected this legislative session, although the Legislature this year may decide how to allocate a surplus of income surtax funds on education and transportation initiatives.

“This survey confirms that housing and transportation are not separate issues; they are deeply interconnected,” said Transportation for Massachusetts Executive Director Reggie Ramos. “Residents are experiencing these as combined, intersecting crises. Housing affordability and transportation connectivity to opportunities impact quality of life and can exacerbate inequality. Our public officials must take steps to solve them jointly and immediately.”

The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.