Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Australia Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 52.9% more expensive than Australia overall.
Boston vs. Australia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Australia, you would:
pay 32.4% more for restaurants
|
Australia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.42
A$26.21
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.19
A$14.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.88
A$4.10
|
$3.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
A$3.31
|
$2.27
|
|
Australia vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 44.3% more for groceries
|
Australia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.64
A$3.76
|
$4.49
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.67
A$6.65
|
$7.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.28
A$8.93
|
$4.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.79
A$6.82
|
$6.09
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.19
A$5.96
|
$6.71
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.62
A$2.30
|
$3.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.32
A$1.88
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.35
A$1.92
|
$2.48
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
A$2.93
|
$3.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
A$1.69
|
$2.01
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.05
A$1.49
|
$1.85
|
|
Australia vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 2.6% more for transportation
|
Australia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.98
A$7.09
|
$4.24
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$91.09
A$129.57
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,191.77
A$38,679.61
|
$36,584.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.22
A$24.50
|
$16.60
|
|
Australia vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 2.2 times more for housing
|
Australia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.16
A$81.30
|
$86.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,309.09
A$1,862.15
|
$3,347.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,073.97
A$1,527.69
|
$2,653.85
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.37
A$208.21
|
$186.11
|
|
Australia vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 70.4% more for childcare
|
Australia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,957.92
A$2,785.09
|
$2,900.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,377.12
A$26,140.99
|
$36,004.38
|
|
Australia vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 10.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Australia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.20
A$10.24
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
A$5.62
|
$5.26
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$36.89
A$52.48
|
$12.54
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.05
A$79.74
|
$85.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.44
A$20.54
|
$16.00
|
|
Australia vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.4% more for clothing
|
Australia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$77.86
A$110.76
|
$76.37
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.33
A$75.87
|
$52.38
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.59
A$160.16
|
$118.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$118.82
A$169.02
|
$167.81
|
|
Australia vs. Boston - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Australia vs. Boston
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See the
cost of living in Australia vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Australia and United States.
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