Boston vs. Milan Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 41.5% more expensive than Milan.

Restaurants
pay 9.7% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 31.0% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 8.8% less in Boston
Housing
pay 91.0% more in Boston
Childcare
pay 2.6 times more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 41.1% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 5.1% less in Boston

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Boston are more expensive than in Milan. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Boston. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Boston.

Boston vs. Milan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Boston instead of Milan, you would:

pay 9.7% more for restaurants

 
Milan
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $22.39
€20.00
$30.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.44
€12.00
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.72
€3.32
$3.09
 

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pay 31.0% more for groceries

 
Milan
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$3.24
€2.90
$4.49
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $11.46
€10.23
$7.82
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.59
€5.88
$4.68
 

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pay 8.8% less for transportation

 
Milan
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.20
€7.32
$4.24
 
Monthly public transit pass $43.67
€38.99
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,317.50
€32,427.79
$36,584.00
 

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pay 91.0% more for housing

 
Milan
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$29.52
€26.35
$86.64
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,710.14
€1,526.98
$3,347.20
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,162.13
€1,037.66
$2,653.85
 

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

 
Milan
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $847.27
€756.52
$2,900.09
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $18,804.09
€16,790.12
$36,004.38
 

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pay 41.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Milan
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.72
€6.00
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.10
€1.87
$5.26
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.28
€6.50
$12.54
 

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pay 5.1% less for clothing

 
Milan
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$101.48
€90.61
$76.37
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$50.31
€44.92
$52.38
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$116.19
€103.74
$118.50
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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