Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 0.8% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.2% less in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 11.2% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 2.0% more in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 18.6% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 13.1% less in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.3% less in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 0.1% less in Boston
The cost of housing, groceries, and transportation in Boston are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Boston.
Boston vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Washington, you would:
pay 12.2% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.40
|
|
Washington vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.2% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.81
|
|
Washington vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 2.0% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$16.52
|
|
Washington vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 18.6% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$153.30
|
|
Washington vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 13.1% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Washington vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 12.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.00
|
|
Washington vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.1% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$152.08
|
|
Washington 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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