Cost of living comparison

compared to
Boston vs. Arizona Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 45.7% more expensive than Arizona.

Restaurants
pay 18.2% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 51.1% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 18.6% more in Boston
Housing
pay 40.0% more in Boston
Childcare
pay 2.2 times more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 51.8% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 23.5% more in Boston

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

Boston vs. Arizona Cost Breakdown

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

pay 18.2% more for restaurants

 
Arizona
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.56
 
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.75
 
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.58
 
$3.14
 

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pay 51.1% more for groceries

 
Arizona
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$3.49
 
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.20
 
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.50
 
$4.97
 

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pay 18.6% more for transportation

 
Arizona
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.79
 
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $53.40
 
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,537.50
 
$32,000.00
 

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pay 40.0% more for housing

 
Arizona
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$80.87
 
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,573.68
 
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,370.59
 
$2,453.85
 

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

 
Arizona
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,069.58
 
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,135.00
 
$25,000.00
 

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pay 51.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Arizona
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.76
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.21
 
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.94
 
$13.83
 

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pay 23.5% more for clothing

 
Arizona
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.15
 
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.56
 
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$86.98
 
$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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