Cost of living comparison

compared to
Boston vs. Alabama Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 58.1% more expensive than Alabama.

Restaurants
pay 36.9% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 38.6% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 35.6% more in Boston
Housing
pay 2.0 times more in Boston
Childcare
pay 93.8% more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 67.6% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 31.4% more in Boston

The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Boston are more expensive than in Alabama. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in Boston.

Boston vs. Alabama Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Boston instead of Alabama, you would:

pay 36.9% more for restaurants

 
Alabama
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.94
 
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.04
 
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.02
 
$3.14
 

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pay 38.6% more for groceries

 
Alabama
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$3.34
 
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.87
 
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.73
 
$4.97
 

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pay 35.6% more for transportation

 
Alabama
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.04
 
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $41.67
 
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,723.76
 
$32,000.00
 

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

 
Alabama
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$63.12
 
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,069.72
 
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $836.44
 
$2,453.85
 

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pay 93.8% more for childcare

 
Alabama
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $992.09
 
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,515.79
 
$25,000.00
 

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pay 67.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Alabama
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.19
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.90
 
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.31
 
$13.83
 

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pay 31.4% more for clothing

 
Alabama
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$44.10
 
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$37.85
 
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$79.09
 
$98.17
 

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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: January 2025
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