Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Brussels Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 39.5% more expensive than Brussels.
Boston vs. Brussels Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Brussels, you would:
pay about the same for restaurants
|
Brussels
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.39
€19.99
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.12
€13.49
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.73
€3.33
|
$3.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.11
€2.78
|
$2.27
|
Brussels vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 40.2% more for groceries
|
Brussels
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.75
€2.45
|
$4.49
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.91
€7.95
|
$7.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.00
€4.46
|
$4.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.29
€4.72
|
$6.09
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.97
€5.33
|
$6.71
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.40
€1.25
|
$3.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.09
€0.97
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.27
€1.13
|
$2.48
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.87
€1.67
|
$3.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.14
€1.02
|
$2.01
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.00
€0.89
|
$1.85
|
|
Brussels vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 13.7% less for transportation
|
Brussels
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.99
€7.13
|
$4.24
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$62.71
€55.97
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,462.03
€31,651.21
|
$36,584.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.27
€18.99
|
$16.60
|
|
Brussels vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 2.0 times more for housing
|
Brussels
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.88
€46.31
|
$86.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,339.95
€1,195.96
|
$3,347.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,154.19
€1,030.16
|
$2,653.85
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$215.91
€192.71
|
$186.11
|
|
Brussels vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 33.0% more for childcare
|
Brussels
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,603.72
€1,431.38
|
$2,900.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$36,825.21
€32,867.90
|
$36,004.38
|
|
Brussels vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 38.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Brussels
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.60
€5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.44
€3.97
|
$5.26
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.44
€11.99
|
$12.54
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.93
€29.39
|
$85.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.68
€14.89
|
$16.00
|
|
Brussels vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.4% more for clothing
|
Brussels
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$101.94
€90.99
|
$76.37
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.03
€41.09
|
$52.38
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$109.64
€97.86
|
$118.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.15
€130.45
|
$167.81
|
|
Brussels vs. Boston - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Brussels vs. Boston
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cost of living in Belgium vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Belgium and United States.
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