Cost of living comparison

compared to
Boston vs. Michigan Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 52.5% more expensive than Michigan.

Restaurants
pay 33.6% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 50.1% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 31.7% more in Boston
Housing
pay 76.5% more in Boston
Childcare
pay 76.3% more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 59.0% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 40.5% more in Boston

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

Boston vs. Michigan Cost Breakdown

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

pay 33.6% more for restaurants

 
Michigan
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $15.68
 
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.87
 
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.44
 
$3.14
 

Improve prices ·

pay 50.1% more for groceries

 
Michigan
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$3.01
 
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.12
 
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.27
 
$4.97
 

Improve prices ·

pay 31.7% more for transportation

 
Michigan
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.37
 
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $48.27
 
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,758.20
 
$32,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 76.5% more for housing

 
Michigan
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$60.88
 
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,322.38
 
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,104.85
 
$2,453.85
 

Improve prices ·

pay 76.3% more for childcare

 
Michigan
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,159.08
 
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,453.87
 
$25,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 59.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Michigan
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.24
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.78
 
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$8.42
 
$13.83
 

Improve prices ·

pay 40.5% more for clothing

 
Michigan
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$46.13
 
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$33.59
 
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$77.38
 
$98.17
 

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Boston or Michigan. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.