Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 1.8% cheaper than Boston.
San Diego vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Boston, you would:
pay 4.8% more for restaurants
Boston | San Diego | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $25.00 | $21.00 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $12.00 | $15.00 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $2.87 | $3.03 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $2.40 | $2.50 | |
Boston vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.6% less for groceries
Boston | San Diego | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $4.16 | $4.57 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $8.92 | $7.36 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $4.80 | $4.78 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $4.93 | $5.84 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $6.15 | $6.07 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $2.70 | $2.22 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $1.00 | $0.78 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $2.83 | $1.91 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $3.61 | $2.26 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $2.09 | $1.42 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $1.81 | $1.12 | |
Boston vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 7.3% more for transportation
Boston | San Diego | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $3.46 | $4.76 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $90.00 | $72.00 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $34,000.00 | $31,965.00 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $16.52 | $19.40 | |
Boston vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 6.6% more for housing
Boston | San Diego | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $77.28 | $82.19 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $3,451.79 | $3,033.00 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $2,596.36 | $2,538.64 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $153.30 | $205.84 | |
Boston vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 16.4% less for childcare
Boston | San Diego | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $2,793.33 | $1,750.00 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $27,500.00 | $28,750.00 | |
Boston vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 0.4% more for entertainment and sports
Boston | San Diego | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $8.00 | $8.00 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $5.36 | $5.90 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $13.00 | $12.00 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $88.48 | $73.21 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $15.00 | $17.50 | |
Boston vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.4% more for clothing
Boston | San Diego | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $69.87 | $60.72 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $43.75 | $58.44 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $107.71 | $105.68 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $152.08 | $126.25 | |
Boston vs. San Diego - 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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