Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 40.8% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 28.1% more in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 96.9% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 23.1% less in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 90.8% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 62.2% more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.9% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 10.8% more in Boston
The cost of groceries, housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Boston are more expensive than in United Kingdom. Notably, groceries and housing are significantly more expensive in Boston.
Boston vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 28.1% more for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£15.30
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.45
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.74
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.23
|
$2.40
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 96.9% more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.20
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.53
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.65
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.90
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.90
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£0.99
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.55
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.96
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.12
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.54
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.53
|
$1.81
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 23.1% less for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.41
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£74.25
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£27,154.63
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.55
|
$16.52
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 90.8% more for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£31.41
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£963.86
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£796.17
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£175.09
|
$153.30
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 62.2% more for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,147.46
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,524.07
|
$27,500.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 19.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.76
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.40
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.38
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£36.92
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.41
|
$15.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.8% more for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£64.47
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£33.13
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£71.37
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£75.98
|
$152.08
|
|
United Kingdom 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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