Cambridge 4plexes: Owning a Fourplex in Cambridge, Massachusetts
A fourplex purchase in Cambridge begins with understanding Cambridge itself. With about 122,588 people, a median household income of $143,108, and a typical home value of $1,019,246, Cambridge has its own arithmetic for an owner-occupant buyer, and this page works through that Cambridge arithmetic step by step.
Stats snapshot: Cambridge, Massachusetts
About 122,588 people live in Cambridge (Census Vintage 2025), the median household in Cambridge earns $143,108, and the typical home value in Cambridge is $1,019,246. For a fourplex buyer in Cambridge, the useful comparison is not any one of those Cambridge numbers alone but how they sit together in Cambridge — income against value in Cambridge, and rent against both in Cambridge.
| Measure | Cambridge | Boston (state capital) |
|---|---|---|
| Population, July 1, 2025 (Census Vintage 2025) | 122,588 | 672,973 |
| Median household income (ACS 2024 1-year, B19013) | $143,108 | $97,791 |
| Households earning under $50,000 | 19.1% | 29.3% |
| Households earning $50,000 to $99,999 | 18.7% | 21.3% |
| Households earning $100,000 to $199,999 | 28.7% | 28.7% |
| Households earning $200,000 or more | 33.4% | 20.6% |
| Median gross rent (ACS 2024 1-year, B25064) | $2,746 a month | $2,196 a month |
| Median earnings, workers 16+ (ACS 2024 1-year, B20017) | $61,301 | $58,678 |
| Typical home value (Zillow ZHVI, September 2026) | $1,019,246 | $761,236 |
Value relative to income is the buyer-side story in Cambridge: the typical home value in Cambridge of $1,019,246 is 7.1 times the median household income in Cambridge of $143,108. Higher multiples in Cambridge mean buyers in Cambridge lean harder on financing and on rental income to make a purchase in Cambridge work; lower multiples in Cambridge leave more room for the numbers in Cambridge to pencil out.
Buyer help and loans in Cambridge
Owner-occupants in Cambridge can use the loan types on our Loan Types page for a Cambridge purchase. An FHA loan for a Cambridge buyer can go as low as 3.5% down on a 1-4 unit primary residence in Cambridge, and a conventional loan for a Cambridge buyer as low as 5% down on an owner-occupied 2-4 unit property in Cambridge. Veterans buying in Cambridge may qualify for a VA loan with typically no down payment in Cambridge. Which of those fits a Cambridge buyer depends on income, credit, and the property in Cambridge — a lender licensed in Massachusetts can walk through the options for your situation in Cambridge.
The fitting set for Cambridge is short: FHA (3.5% down, 1-4 units) for Cambridge, conventional (5% down, owner-occupied 2-4 units) for Cambridge, VA (typically no down payment, eligible veterans) for Cambridge, plus HomeReady and Home Possible (5% down, capped at 80% of area median income) for Cambridge.
Do not budget a Cambridge purchase around help that cannot apply in Cambridge: USDA does not cover fourplexes in Cambridge at all, and many state and local assistance programs require a single-family, one-unit home in Cambridge, so neither fits a four-unit purchase in Cambridge unless the program's own rules for Cambridge say otherwise.
A buyer in Cambridge at the top of the income scale in Cambridge should skip straight to the uncapped programs for Cambridge. With 33.4% of households in Cambridge at $200,000 or more, the 80%-of-area-median-income caps on HomeReady and Home Possible for Cambridge will exclude many local buyers in Cambridge, leaving FHA at 3.5% down in Cambridge, conventional at 5% down in Cambridge, and VA with typically no down payment for eligible veterans in Cambridge as the routes compared on the Loan Types page for Cambridge.
Start with the Loan Types page for the full comparison for a Cambridge purchase, then confirm your situation with a lender.
Life in Cambridge as an owner-occupant
Above: Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. in Cambridge. For a buyer in Cambridge, the photo is a reminder that a fourplex in Cambridge is not just a spreadsheet — it sits in a real neighborhood in Cambridge, where about 122,588 people in Cambridge live, work, and rent.
The math in Cambridge only works if the tenants in Cambridge stay, and tenants in Cambridge stay when the building in Cambridge is maintained and the rent in Cambridge matches the market in Cambridge. In Cambridge, a year of median rent in Cambridge ($2,746 a month) equals 23.0% of the median household income in Cambridge — a useful gut-check for a Cambridge buyer on whether local rents in Cambridge leave room for increases without pushing good tenants in Cambridge out.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates (tables B19001, B19013, B25064, B20017); Census Vintage 2025 population estimates, July 1, 2025; Zillow Research ZHVI, September 2026. Typical home value is the Zillow ZHVI modeled typical value, not a median sale price.