Cost of living comparison
compared to
Zurich vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
Zurich is 40.5% more expensive than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 82.7% more in Zurich
- Groceries
-
pay 13.0% more in Zurich
- Transportation
-
pay 73.7% more in Zurich
- Housing
-
pay 6.6% less in Zurich
- Childcare
-
pay 44.2% more in Zurich
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.6% more in Zurich
- Clothing
-
pay 55.0% more in Zurich
The cost of restaurants, transportation, clothing, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Zurich are more expensive than in Boston. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Zurich.
Zurich vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Zurich instead of Boston, you would:
pay 82.7% more for restaurants
|
Boston
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$31.30
CHF25.12
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$21.28
CHF17.08
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$6.01
CHF4.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$5.24
CHF4.20
|
|
Boston vs. Zurich - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.0% more for groceries
|
Boston
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$3.30
CHF2.65
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$14.81
CHF11.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$8.35
CHF6.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$7.29
CHF5.85
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$14.64
CHF11.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.87
CHF1.50
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$1.34
CHF1.08
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$1.46
CHF1.18
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$2.46
CHF1.98
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.22
CHF0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.04
CHF0.83
|
|
Boston vs. Zurich - Cost of groceries
pay 73.7% more for transportation
|
Boston
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$8.63
CHF6.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$108.91
CHF87.43
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$41,061.59
CHF32,963.30
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$33.55
CHF26.93
|
|
Boston vs. Zurich - Cost of transportation
pay 6.6% less for housing
|
Boston
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$59.74
CHF47.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$2,666.50
CHF2,140.60
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$2,285.53
CHF1,834.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$200.77
CHF161.17
|
|
Boston vs. Zurich - Cost of housing
pay 44.2% more for childcare
|
Boston
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$3,558.15
CHF2,856.40
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$44,295.61
CHF35,559.50
|
|
Boston vs. Zurich - Cost of childcare
pay 21.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$10.02
CHF8.04
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$6.91
CHF5.55
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.27
CHF9.04
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$88.77
CHF71.27
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$25.04
CHF20.10
|
|
Boston vs. Zurich - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 55.0% more for clothing
|
Boston
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$137.88
CHF110.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$59.35
CHF47.64
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$159.90
CHF128.36
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$210.59
CHF169.05
|
|
Boston vs. Zurich - 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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