Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boston vs. Worcester Cost of Living Summary
Boston is 31.9% more expensive than Worcester.
- Restaurants
-
pay 32.6% more in Boston
- Groceries
-
pay 41.9% more in Boston
- Transportation
-
pay 3.4% less in Boston
- Housing
-
pay 39.1% more in Boston
- Childcare
-
pay 26.9% more in Boston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 62.0% more in Boston
- Clothing
-
pay 24.0% more in Boston
The cost of entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, restaurants, childcare, and clothing in Boston are more expensive than in Worcester.
Boston vs. Worcester Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boston instead of Worcester, you would:
pay 32.6% more for restaurants
|
Worcester
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.13
|
$2.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.74
|
$2.40
|
|
Worcester vs. Boston - Cost of restaurants
pay 41.9% more for groceries
|
Worcester
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.40
|
$4.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.53
|
$8.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.60
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.72
|
$4.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.94
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.73
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.64
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.76
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.83
|
$3.61
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.45
|
$2.09
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.14
|
$1.81
|
|
Worcester vs. Boston - Cost of groceries
pay 3.4% less for transportation
|
Worcester
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.22
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.35
|
$16.52
|
|
Worcester vs. Boston - Cost of transportation
pay 39.1% more for housing
|
Worcester
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.00
|
$77.28
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,850.00
|
$3,451.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,740.00
|
$2,596.36
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$147.84
|
$153.30
|
|
Worcester vs. Boston - Cost of housing
pay 26.9% more for childcare
|
Worcester
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,723.33
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,000.00
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Worcester vs. Boston - Cost of childcare
pay 62.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Worcester
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.11
|
$5.36
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.00
|
$88.48
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.00
|
|
Worcester vs. Boston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.0% more for clothing
|
Worcester
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.50
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.00
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.00
|
$107.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$160.00
|
$152.08
|
|
Worcester 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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