Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 6.8% more expensive than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.6% less in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 24.2% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 2.7% less in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 3.8% less in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 27.7% more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.4% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 3.1% more in Boston
The cost of childcare, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Boston are more expensive than in San Diego. Expenses including housing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Boston.
Boston vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 2.6% less for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.40
|
|
San Diego vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.2% more for groceries
|
San Diego
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.81
|
|
San Diego vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 2.7% less for transportation
|
San Diego
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$16.52
|
|
San Diego vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 3.8% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$153.30
|
|
San Diego vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 27.7% more for childcare
|
San Diego
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
$27,500.00
|
|
San Diego vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 1.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$15.00
|
|
San Diego vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.1% more for clothing
|
San Diego
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$152.08
|
|
San Diego 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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