Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Carolina vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
South Carolina is 25.1% cheaper than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.3% less in South Carolina
- Groceries
-
pay 20.0% less in South Carolina
- Transportation
-
pay 17.2% less in South Carolina
- Housing
-
pay 30.8% less in South Carolina
- Childcare
-
pay 41.0% less in South Carolina
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 31.3% less in South Carolina
- Clothing
-
pay 23.4% less in South Carolina
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, groceries, and transportation are lower in South Carolina.
South Carolina vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Carolina instead of Boston, you would:
pay 12.3% less for restaurants
|
Boston
|
South Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$19.17
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.16
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$2.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.13
|
|
Boston vs. South Carolina - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.0% less for groceries
|
Boston
|
South Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$3.44
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$5.99
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$3.54
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$4.18
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$5.64
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$2.64
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.76
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$2.49
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$2.31
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.63
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.38
|
|
Boston vs. South Carolina - Cost of groceries
pay 17.2% less for transportation
|
Boston
|
South Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$2.88
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$46.17
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$33,190.90
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$16.34
|
|
Boston vs. South Carolina - Cost of transportation
pay 30.8% less for housing
|
Boston
|
South Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$66.47
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$1,589.94
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$1,366.92
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$141.20
|
|
Boston vs. South Carolina - Cost of housing
pay 41.0% less for childcare
|
Boston
|
South Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$1,346.85
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$19,168.15
|
|
Boston vs. South Carolina - Cost of childcare
pay 31.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
South Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.29
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$5.17
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$7.67
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$32.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$12.71
|
|
Boston vs. South Carolina - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.4% less for clothing
|
Boston
|
South Carolina
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$50.06
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$35.86
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$84.43
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$112.81
|
|
Boston vs. South Carolina - 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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