Most of Dorchester is in Suffolk County, where a full-time job needs to pay at least $96.86 an hour before taxes to take home four times the typical studio rent.
Across the 3 ZIP codes in Dorchester with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $2,130 to $2,380 a month. At the middle rent, $2,130, a full-time job would need to pay $75.08 an hour before taxes.
What the standard would be at each ZIP code's own studio rent. The calculator and the official standard use the county figure.
| ZIP | County | Studio rent | Pay needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02121 | Suffolk County | $2,130/mo | $75.08/hr |
| 02122 | Suffolk County | $2,380/mo | $85.01/hr |
| 02125 | Suffolk County | $2,130/mo | $75.08/hr |
Under the Four Times Rent standard, a full-time job in Dorchester needs to pay at least $96.86 an hour before taxes, about $201,466 a year. That is the figure for Suffolk County, where the typical studio rent is $2,680 a month.
Yes. Across the 3 ZIP codes in Dorchester with HUD rent figures, studio rents run from $2,130 to $2,380 a month. At the middle rent of $2,130, the pay needed would be $75.08 an hour.
The minimum wage in Suffolk County is $15.00 an hour. The Four Times Rent standard there is 6.5 times that.
The Four Times Rent standard: a month of full-time work (160 hours) should take home at least four times the typical rent on a studio apartment in the county where the work is done. Rents: HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents. Taxes: 2026 federal and state income taxes plus Social Security and Medicare, for a single filer. Why four times rent? · Method and data downloads