Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Ireland Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 53.8% more expensive than Ireland overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 19.7% more in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 73.9% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 31.2% less in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 64.6% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 3.2 times more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.9% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 13.5% more in Boston
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Boston are more expensive than in Ireland. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Boston.
Boston vs. Ireland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Ireland, you would:
pay 19.7% more for restaurants
|
Ireland
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.70
€16.99
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.31
€9.76
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.39
€2.06
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.91
€1.64
|
$2.40
|
|
Ireland vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 73.9% more for groceries
|
Ireland
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.04
€1.76
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.16
€4.45
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.89
€5.08
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.07
€3.51
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.10
€4.39
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.37
€1.18
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.84
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.39
€1.20
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.79
€1.54
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
€0.74
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.68
€0.59
|
$1.81
|
|
Ireland vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 31.2% less for transportation
|
Ireland
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.75
€6.68
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$121.81
€105.04
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,319.33
€35,630.77
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.20
€19.14
|
$16.52
|
|
Ireland vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 64.6% more for housing
|
Ireland
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$51.47
€44.39
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,543.12
€1,330.68
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,305.59
€1,125.85
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$178.90
€154.27
|
$153.30
|
|
Ireland vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 3.2 times more for childcare
|
Ireland
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,108.91
€956.25
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,959.78
€6,001.60
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Ireland vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 12.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ireland
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.63
€5.72
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.32
€3.73
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.16
€16.52
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.57
€54.82
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.32
€11.49
|
$15.00
|
|
Ireland vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.5% more for clothing
|
Ireland
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$89.93
€77.55
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.06
€35.41
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$96.01
€82.79
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.40
€83.13
|
$152.08
|
|
Ireland 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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