Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mountain View vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
Mountain View is 1.5% cheaper than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.5% less in Mountain View
- Groceries
-
pay 2.7% less in Mountain View
- Transportation
-
pay 18.5% more in Mountain View
- Housing
-
pay 2.7% less in Mountain View
- Childcare
-
pay 5.5% more in Mountain View
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.0% less in Mountain View
- Clothing
-
pay 12.3% less in Mountain View
Mountain View vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mountain View instead of Boston, you would:
pay 8.5% less for restaurants
|
Boston
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.44
|
|
Boston vs. Mountain View - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.7% less for groceries
|
Boston
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$4.59
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$8.27
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$2.47
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$2.19
|
|
Boston vs. Mountain View - Cost of groceries
pay 18.5% more for transportation
|
Boston
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$4.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$18.41
|
|
Boston vs. Mountain View - Cost of transportation
pay 2.7% less for housing
|
Boston
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$62.47
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$2,812.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$2,400.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$205.96
|
|
Boston vs. Mountain View - Cost of housing
pay 5.5% more for childcare
|
Boston
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$1,850.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Boston vs. Mountain View - Cost of childcare
pay 8.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$72.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.00
|
|
Boston vs. Mountain View - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.3% less for clothing
|
Boston
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$125.00
|
|
Boston vs. Mountain View - 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: June 2026
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