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But roughly one in four voters polled said they had seriously considered moving out of Massachusetts in the last year, largely over cost-of-living concerns.

By Abby Patkin

June 17, 2026 | 9:29 AM

2 minutes to read

While more than half of Massachusetts voters say the Bay State is heading in the right direction — “plummeting” quality of life notwithstanding — the vast majority have a far less rosy impression of the United States at large, according to a new poll from Suffolk University and The Boston Globe.

About 51.2% of the 500 voters surveyed said Massachusetts is on the right track, compared to 72.4% who feel the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction, according to the poll. Voters were somewhat more lukewarm about Boston, as 42.4% of respondents said the city is on the right path and 34.6% disagreed.

A MassINC Polling Group survey conducted in April documented a “deepening economic pessimism” among Massachusetts voters, but the Suffolk results suggest some Bay Staters are starting to feel more hopeful. According to the Suffolk poll, 41% of respondents rated the state’s economy “excellent” or “good” this time around — nearly double the 21% who did so in its November 2025 poll. 

Still, more than 60% said they are somewhat or very concerned about their personal financial situation or employment, and many cited food and grocery expenses as a particular strain on their budget.

To that end, roughly one in four voters said they have seriously considered moving out of Massachusetts in the last year, and 28% said they’ve at least thought about it from time to time. Yet Suffolk again reported a slight improvement over its November 2025 poll, when one in three Massachusetts voters said they had toyed with the idea of leaving. 

Across both Suffolk polls, many voters pointed to the cost of living as a primary reason for considering an out-of-state move. This time around, more than 18% of voters also cited taxes as a driving factor, and nearly two-thirds supported a proposed ballot question that would cut the state income tax rate from 5% to 4% — a controversial measure that opponents warn could further strain the state’s precarious budget. 

Less than 10% of voters polled said they felt they had benefitted from a $1 billion tax relief package Gov. Maura Healey signed into law in 2023; more than half said they couldn’t tell whether it had made any difference. 

“The Massachusetts economy doesn’t depict an ideal ‘commonwealth,’ because there is clearly a widening gap between the haves and have nots,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. 

Though nearly 71% of respondents said they had enough money to live comfortably at the moment, Paleologos pointed out that low-income households were far more likely to give the Massachusetts economy a lackluster rating than their more affluent counterparts. 

“The people who are making low incomes are really being punished by inflation and the high cost of food and groceries,” he told the Globe. 

Boston.com readers who offered some insight on their financial stressors last month said they’re also feeling the pinch. 

“Everyday things in Massachusetts are so expensive and that’s just the start of the problem. Everywhere I turn there’s another tax, fee, surcharge that is bleeding us dry,” said Mike from Framingham. “I have had enough and I am finally leaving. My friends in other states (you can guess which ones) don’t live like this. We don’t have to either.”