Cost of living comparison

compared to
Boston vs. Minnesota Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 36.5% more expensive than Minnesota.

Restaurants
pay 24.6% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 33.6% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 9.5% more in Boston
Housing
pay 82.0% more in Boston
Childcare
pay 48.1% more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 37.2% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 20.5% more in Boston

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

Boston vs. Minnesota Cost Breakdown

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

pay 24.6% more for restaurants

 
Minnesota
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.25
 
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.44
 
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.57
 
$3.14
 

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pay 33.6% more for groceries

 
Minnesota
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$3.24
 
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.95
 
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.64
 
$4.97
 

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pay 9.5% more for transportation

 
Minnesota
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.27
 
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $75.17
 
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,650.12
 
$32,000.00
 

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pay 82.0% more for housing

 
Minnesota
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$66.32
 
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,195.42
 
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,106.51
 
$2,453.85
 

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pay 48.1% more for childcare

 
Minnesota
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,324.96
 
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,140.67
 
$25,000.00
 

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pay 37.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Minnesota
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.62
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.50
 
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.80
 
$13.83
 

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pay 20.5% more for clothing

 
Minnesota
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$52.74
 
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.94
 
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$84.66
 
$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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