Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 5.7% cheaper than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.0% less in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 19.4% less in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 3.5% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 21.8% less in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 7.8% more in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.5% more in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 1.5% less in Chicago
The cost of childcare and entertainment and sports in Chicago are more expensive than in Boston. Expenses including housing, groceries, restaurants, transportation, and clothing are lower in Chicago.
Chicago vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of Boston, you would:
pay 6.0% less for restaurants
|
Boston
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.33
|
|
Boston vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.4% less for groceries
|
Boston
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.26
|
|
Boston vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 3.5% less for transportation
|
Boston
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$14.43
|
|
Boston vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 21.8% less for housing
|
Boston
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$141.41
|
|
Boston vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 7.8% more for childcare
|
Boston
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$39,114.29
|
|
Boston vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 4.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$18.00
|
|
Boston vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.5% less for clothing
|
Boston
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$146.50
|
|
Boston vs. Chicago - 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: November 2025
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