Cost of living comparison

compared to

France vs. Massachusetts Cost of Living Summary

France is 9.4% cheaper than Massachusetts.

Restaurants
pay 4.0% less in France
Groceries
pay 11.7% less in France
Transportation
pay 39.0% more in France
Housing
pay 45.2% less in France
Childcare
pay 61.6% less in France
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.1% less in France
Clothing
pay 29.5% more in France

The cost of transportation and clothing in France are more expensive than in Massachusetts. Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants are lower in France.

France vs. Massachusetts Cost Breakdown

If you lived in France instead of Massachusetts, you would:

pay 4.0% less for restaurants

 
Massachusetts
France
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.54
 
$17.40
€15.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.50
 
$12.58
€10.85
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.63
 
$2.85
€2.46

Improve prices ·

pay 11.7% less for groceries

 
Massachusetts
France
Bread
1 loaf
$3.53
 
$2.00
€1.72
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.98
 
$9.90
€8.53
Milk (1 gallon) $4.30
 
$5.07
€4.37

Improve prices ·

pay 39.0% more for transportation

 
Massachusetts
France
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.21
 
$7.83
€6.76
Monthly public transit pass $70.22
 
$55.31
€47.69
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,617.11
 
$35,101.00
€30,268.54

Improve prices ·

pay 45.2% less for housing

 
Massachusetts
France
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$70.71
 
$32.49
€28.01
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,203.18
 
$812.51
€700.65
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,938.26
 
$661.67
€570.58

Improve prices ·

pay 61.6% less for childcare

 
Massachusetts
France
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,228.25
 
$772.72
€666.34
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $24,653.85
 
$10,376.63
€8,948.05

Improve prices ·

pay 12.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
Massachusetts
France
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.61
 
$7.00
€6.04
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.91
 
$3.57
€3.08
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.23
 
$13.51
€11.65

Improve prices ·

pay 29.5% more for clothing

 
Massachusetts
France
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.65
 
$95.54
€82.39
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.73
 
$41.45
€35.75
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.67
 
$99.85
€86.11

Improve prices ·
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: November 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United States vs. France. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and France.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about France or Massachusetts. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.