Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Philadelphia Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 16.0% more expensive than Philadelphia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.6% more in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 17.0% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 0.1% more in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 42.0% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 1.2% more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.2% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 12.8% more in Boston
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, restaurants, and childcare in Boston are more expensive than in Philadelphia.
Boston vs. Philadelphia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Philadelphia, you would:
pay 8.6% more for restaurants
|
Philadelphia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.10
|
$2.40
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 17.0% more for groceries
|
Philadelphia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.25
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.30
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.27
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.54
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.89
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.73
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.85
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.05
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.65
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.49
|
$1.81
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 0.1% more for transportation
|
Philadelphia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.24
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$96.50
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,373.32
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.43
|
$16.52
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 42.0% more for housing
|
Philadelphia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$76.39
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,831.00
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,313.60
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$189.95
|
$153.30
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 1.2% more for childcare
|
Philadelphia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,026.67
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,560.00
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 30.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Philadelphia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.06
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.38
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.8% more for clothing
|
Philadelphia
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.00
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.86
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.31
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.67
|
$152.08
|
|
Philadelphia 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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