Cost of living comparison
Boston is 7.0% more expensive than Chicago.
If you lived in Boston instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 1.9% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.34
|
$12.55
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.02
|
$3.14
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$2.56
|
|
pay 24.6% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.19
|
$4.39
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.87
|
$9.48
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.94
|
$4.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.75
|
$4.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$6.22
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.44
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$1.02
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$3.23
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$3.19
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$2.08
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.37
|
$1.72
|
|
pay 5.7% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.16
|
$3.64
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$32,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$16.62
|
|
pay 35.0% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$58.52
|
$70.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,360.96
|
$3,280.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,512.92
|
$2,453.85
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.63
|
$148.96
|
|
pay 21.4% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,475.00
|
$2,428.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,300.00
|
$25,000.00
|
|
pay 4.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.50
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.30
|
$5.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$13.83
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.00
|
$86.18
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.00
|
|
pay 1.8% less for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Boston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.98
|
$64.32
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.67
|
$43.83
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.00
|
$98.17
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.00
|
$157.18
|
|
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