Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. New Jersey Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 13.3% more expensive than New Jersey.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.5% more in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 12.1% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 7.2% less in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 33.4% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 19.4% more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.5% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 7.4% more in Boston
The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and clothing in Boston are more expensive than in New Jersey.
Boston vs. New Jersey Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of New Jersey, you would:
pay 12.5% more for restaurants
|
New Jersey
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.95
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.40
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.60
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$2.40
|
|
New Jersey vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.1% more for groceries
|
New Jersey
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.17
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.09
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.24
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.96
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.76
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.44
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.60
|
$1.81
|
|
New Jersey vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 7.2% less for transportation
|
New Jersey
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.24
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$116.02
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,841.50
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.75
|
$16.52
|
|
New Jersey vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 33.4% more for housing
|
New Jersey
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.68
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,279.92
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,885.98
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.74
|
$153.30
|
|
New Jersey vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 19.4% more for childcare
|
New Jersey
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,023.96
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,267.62
|
$27,500.00
|
|
New Jersey vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 15.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
New Jersey
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.95
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.79
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.90
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.52
|
$15.00
|
|
New Jersey vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.4% more for clothing
|
New Jersey
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.64
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.26
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.28
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$136.81
|
$152.08
|
|
New Jersey 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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