Cost of living comparison
compared to
Providence vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
Providence is 16.0% cheaper than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.4% less in Providence
- Groceries
-
pay 19.2% less in Providence
- Transportation
-
pay 13.7% less in Providence
- Housing
-
pay 5.5% less in Providence
- Childcare
-
pay 12.6% less in Providence
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 22.9% less in Providence
- Clothing
-
pay 36.4% less in Providence
Expenses including clothing, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, childcare, and housing are lower in Providence.
Providence vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Providence instead of Boston, you would:
pay 1.4% less for restaurants
|
Boston
|
Providence
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$19.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.33
|
|
Boston vs. Providence - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.2% less for groceries
|
Boston
|
Providence
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$3.36
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$5.37
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$5.31
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$4.68
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$4.90
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$2.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.97
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$2.66
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.08
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.42
|
|
Boston vs. Providence - Cost of groceries
pay 13.7% less for transportation
|
Boston
|
Providence
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$3.18
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$70.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$36,036.53
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$11.46
|
|
Boston vs. Providence - Cost of transportation
pay 5.5% less for housing
|
Boston
|
Providence
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$67.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$2,235.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$1,741.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$243.64
|
|
Boston vs. Providence - Cost of housing
pay 12.6% less for childcare
|
Boston
|
Providence
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$1,833.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$30,000.00
|
|
Boston vs. Providence - Cost of childcare
pay 22.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
Providence
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$4.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$56.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Boston vs. Providence - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 36.4% less for clothing
|
Boston
|
Providence
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$32.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$67.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$83.33
|
|
Boston vs. Providence - 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: December 2025
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