Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 43.1% more expensive than United States overall.
Boston vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of United States, you would:
pay 25.6% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.86
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.42
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$3.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.05
|
$2.27
|
|
United States vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 30.9% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.63
|
$4.49
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.52
|
$7.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.98
|
$4.68
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.30
|
$6.09
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.46
|
$6.71
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.34
|
$3.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.80
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$2.48
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$3.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$2.01
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$1.85
|
|
United States vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 11.3% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.01
|
$4.24
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$66.70
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,164.82
|
$36,584.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.02
|
$16.60
|
|
United States vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 76.0% more for housing
|
United States
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.22
|
$86.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,681.01
|
$3,347.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,404.28
|
$2,653.85
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$157.64
|
$186.11
|
|
United States vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 71.9% more for childcare
|
United States
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,450.99
|
$2,900.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,361.50
|
$36,004.38
|
|
United States vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 27.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.31
|
$5.26
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.42
|
$12.54
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.68
|
$85.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.95
|
$16.00
|
|
United States vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 36.7% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.15
|
$76.37
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.88
|
$52.38
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.76
|
$118.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.01
|
$167.81
|
|
United States vs. Boston - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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