Cost of living comparison

 Houston (TX), United States
compared to
 Boston (MA), United States
Boston vs. Houston Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 35.0% more expensive than Houston.

Restaurants
pay 28.4% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 58.7% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 5.7% more in Boston
Housing
pay 55.1% more in Boston
Childcare
pay 37.6% more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 46.5% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 13.1% more in Boston

The cost of groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, and clothing in Boston are more expensive than in Houston.

Boston vs. Houston Cost Breakdown

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

pay 28.4% more for restaurants

 
Houston
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.00
 
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.00
 
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.53
 
$3.14
 

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pay 58.7% more for groceries

 
Houston
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$2.97
 
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.39
 
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.43
 
$4.97
 

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pay 5.7% more for transportation

 
Houston
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.88
 
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $75.00
 
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $36,278.39
 
$32,000.00
 

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pay 55.1% more for housing

 
Houston
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$66.71
 
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,582.84
 
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,189.12
 
$2,453.85
 

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pay 37.6% more for childcare

 
Houston
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,457.58
 
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,000.00
 
$25,000.00
 

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pay 46.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
Houston
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.27
 
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.97
 
$13.83
 

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pay 13.1% more for clothing

 
Houston
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$47.14
 
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$43.00
 
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$103.28
 
$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: May 2025
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