Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Cambridge Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 17.4% more expensive than Cambridge.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.7% more in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 66.8% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 22.8% less in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 49.7% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 15.0% more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.9% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 0.2% less in Boston
The cost of groceries, housing, childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Boston are more expensive than in Cambridge. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Boston.
Boston vs. Cambridge Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Cambridge, you would:
pay 9.7% more for restaurants
|
Cambridge
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.71
£20.02
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.68
£8.01
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
£2.00
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.91
£1.43
|
$2.40
|
|
Cambridge vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 66.8% more for groceries
|
Cambridge
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.92
£1.44
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.16
£4.62
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.47
£4.85
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.38
£3.28
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.45
£3.33
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.39
£1.04
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
£0.59
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.62
£1.21
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.51
£1.14
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
£0.68
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.99
£0.74
|
$1.81
|
|
Cambridge vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 22.8% less for transportation
|
Cambridge
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.23
£5.42
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.13
£60.06
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,772.71
£28,315.37
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$28.04
£21.02
|
$16.52
|
|
Cambridge vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 49.7% more for housing
|
Cambridge
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.26
£30.93
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,874.74
£1,405.35
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,585.83
£1,188.78
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$240.38
£180.19
|
$153.30
|
|
Cambridge vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 15.0% more for childcare
|
Cambridge
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,228.30
£1,670.39
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$26,263.51
£19,687.78
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Cambridge vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 3.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Cambridge
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.01
£6.01
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.76
£3.57
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$20.03
£15.02
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$59.43
£44.55
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.03
£12.01
|
$15.00
|
|
Cambridge vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.2% less for clothing
|
Cambridge
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$95.71
£71.74
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.19
£38.37
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.57
£68.65
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.53
£92.60
|
$152.08
|
|
Cambridge vs. Boston - 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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