Cost of living comparison
compared to
Helena vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
Helena is 2.9% cheaper than Boston.
Helena vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Helena instead of Boston, you would:
pay 9.2% less for restaurants
|
Boston
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$1.75
|
|
Boston vs. Helena - Cost of restaurants
pay 17.6% less for groceries
|
Boston
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$3.78
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$15.52
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$4.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$4.23
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$4.24
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$2.18
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.81
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$0.84
|
|
Boston vs. Helena - Cost of groceries
pay 23.4% more for transportation
|
Boston
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$3.29
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$35,850.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$37.34
|
|
Boston vs. Helena - Cost of transportation
pay 3.2% more for housing
|
Boston
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$91.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$1,699.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$1,483.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$287.72
|
|
Boston vs. Helena - Cost of housing
pay 24.6% less for childcare
|
Boston
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$1,895.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$22,833.33
|
|
Boston vs. Helena - Cost of childcare
pay 25.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$5.12
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$52.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$11.50
|
|
Boston vs. Helena - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.2% more for clothing
|
Boston
|
Helena
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$64.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$118.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$82.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$123.50
|
|
Boston vs. Helena - 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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