Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
United States is 20.5% cheaper than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.2% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 22.2% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 6.6% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 27.5% less in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 32.9% less in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.2% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 19.1% less in United States
Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants are lower in United States.
United States vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of Boston, you would:
pay 14.2% less for restaurants
|
Boston
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.00
|
|
Boston vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.2% less for groceries
|
Boston
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.38
|
|
Boston vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 6.6% less for transportation
|
Boston
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$17.61
|
|
Boston vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 27.5% less for housing
|
Boston
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$150.19
|
|
Boston vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 32.9% less for childcare
|
Boston
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
Boston vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 21.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$13.64
|
|
Boston vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.1% less for clothing
|
Boston
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$112.04
|
|
Boston vs. United States - 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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