Cost of living comparison
compared to
Grand Rapids vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
Grand Rapids is 25.2% cheaper than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.3% less in Grand Rapids
- Groceries
-
pay 24.1% less in Grand Rapids
- Transportation
-
pay 9.6% less in Grand Rapids
- Housing
-
pay 37.5% less in Grand Rapids
- Childcare
-
pay 44.8% less in Grand Rapids
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 29.7% less in Grand Rapids
- Clothing
-
pay 10.2% less in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Grand Rapids instead of Boston, you would:
pay 20.3% less for restaurants
|
Boston
|
Grand Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$18.49
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$1.41
|
|
Boston vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.1% less for groceries
|
Boston
|
Grand Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$3.13
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$7.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$3.41
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$3.46
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$4.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$2.23
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$2.53
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$2.83
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$0.97
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.66
|
|
Boston vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of groceries
pay 9.6% less for transportation
|
Boston
|
Grand Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$3.24
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$47.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$20.70
|
|
Boston vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of transportation
pay 37.5% less for housing
|
Boston
|
Grand Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$72.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$1,691.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$1,191.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$93.79
|
|
Boston vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of housing
pay 44.8% less for childcare
|
Boston
|
Grand Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$950.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$21,000.00
|
|
Boston vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of childcare
pay 29.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
Grand Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$4.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$40.83
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Boston vs. Grand Rapids - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.2% less for clothing
|
Boston
|
Grand Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$58.91
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$47.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$87.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$130.00
|
|
Boston vs. Grand Rapids - 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: October 2026
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