Blog

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is about to become significantly more expensive for states as they take on new responsibilities imposed by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. For the first time in program history, states will shoulder a portion of costs based on their payment error rates. Massachusetts registered a 12.5% error rate in the 2025 fiscal year, meaning the Commonwealth could be on the hook for upwards of $350 million.

Nationally, Massachusetts has among the highest housing prices, with a median sale price of $667,628 for all homes compared to the national average of $398,771. Between October 2016-2025, Massachusetts single-family home prices went up 80.5%, mirroring the climb of housing prices across New England following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2026, Massachusetts has the nation’s third highest average rent at $2,259 a month. House prices nationally surged in 2021. This was mainly attributed to increased housing demand resulting from remote work, federal stimulus payments, and low interest rates coupled with increased supply chain disruptions that raised the cost of building and limited construction of new homes.

This edition of The House Call describes a proposed zoning reform that would make it easier to add housing to existing properties in Hyde Park, Roslindale, and West Roxbury. It also provides an update about pending state legislation related to housing.

Massachusetts remains a venture capital powerhouse amid cost-driven declines in business formation and private sector jobs AT A GLANCE: BOSTON – Massachusetts remains one of the nation’s leading innovation economies, attracting significant venture capital and ranking third nationally in business research and...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly expanding and has already entered K-12 schools nationwide. November 2025 data from the Rand Institute show that the majority of teachers and students alike use AI to complete educational tasks. Yet, 80 percent of students do not believe they are adequately trained to use these emerging technologies (Figure 1).

On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian immigrants, heightening concerns in immigrant communities and sparking the possibility of protections for other immigrant populations being ended as well. Not only is this directly affecting the everyday lives of about 356,000 people nationwide, but also the businesses who employ them. For example, in Massachusetts, about 2,000 direct care workers --- which are professionals who provide hands-on assistance in everyday activities for individuals like the disabled --- in Massachusetts are at risk of losing work authorization. There is even already a shortage of direct care workers in Massachusetts.

BOSTON – A proposal to cut the state income tax rate from 5 percent to 4 percent over three years would have provided the median Massachusetts household with $1,095 in annual tax savings, grown the state economy by $14.5 billion, created 43,000 new jobs, increased total wages by nearly 2 percent and reduced the state unemployment rate by 0.3 percent, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

On June 26, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey announced a three-year bachelor’s degree pilot program at Suffolk University and Merrimack College, aiming to cut tuition without sacrificing academic quality. As discussed in my previous blog, tuition costs have soared, and it may be due to the way universities fundamentally operate. In 2023, Massachusetts' average annual tuition neared $54,000 (Figure 1), with elite institutions costing even more.  

Public reporting of state finances that is transparent, reliable, and timely is what the International Monetary Fund defines as fiscal transparency. Not only can the transparency of this information help governments respond appropriately to the ever-changing economy, but it can also help the public hold them accountable.  

Massachusetts has distinguished itself as a national leader in education, health care, and biotechnology. While many other states rely on manufacturing, energy, or tourism as their economic drivers, Massachusetts has built an economy centered around research and innovation at some of the nation’s best academic and medical institutions.