Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Alabama Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 62.5% more expensive than Alabama.
- Restaurants
-
pay 33.4% more in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 43.4% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 28.9% more in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 2.2 times more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 2.1 times more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 56.8% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 45.5% more in Boston
The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, and restaurants in Boston are more expensive than in Alabama. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in Boston.
Boston vs. Alabama Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Alabama, you would:
pay 33.4% more for restaurants
|
Alabama
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.75
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.36
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.85
|
$2.40
|
|
Alabama vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 43.4% more for groceries
|
Alabama
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.26
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.23
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.69
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.58
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.89
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.45
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.76
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.81
|
|
Alabama vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 28.9% more for transportation
|
Alabama
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.84
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,098.54
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.41
|
$16.52
|
|
Alabama vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 2.2 times more for housing
|
Alabama
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.63
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,036.37
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$847.06
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$144.14
|
$153.30
|
|
Alabama vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 2.1 times more for childcare
|
Alabama
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,146.13
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,177.33
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Alabama vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 56.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Alabama
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.96
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.95
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.76
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$41.81
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.07
|
$15.00
|
|
Alabama vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 45.5% more for clothing
|
Alabama
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$39.67
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.87
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$79.77
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.17
|
$152.08
|
|
Alabama vs. Boston - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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