Cost of living comparison

compared to
Boston vs. Netherlands Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 47.8% more expensive than Netherlands overall.

Restaurants
pay 9.2% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 91.9% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 21.5% less in Boston
Housing
pay 82.9% more in Boston
Childcare
pay 2.1 times more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 52.1% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 7.4% more in Boston

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

Boston vs. Netherlands Cost Breakdown

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

pay 9.2% more for restaurants

 
Netherlands
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.74
€18.18
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.22
€11.85
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.94
€2.86
$3.14
 

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pay 91.9% more for groceries

 
Netherlands
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$1.79
€1.74
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.20
€6.01
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.40
€4.27
$4.97
 

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pay 21.5% less for transportation

 
Netherlands
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.80
€7.56
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $95.88
€92.99
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,938.58
€30,973.75
$32,000.00
 

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pay 82.9% more for housing

 
Netherlands
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$43.11
€41.81
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,289.16
€1,250.22
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,051.87
€1,020.09
$2,453.85
 

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

 
Netherlands
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,627.96
€1,578.78
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,050.97
€8,777.55
$25,000.00
 

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pay 52.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Netherlands
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.55
€5.38
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.60
€3.49
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.52
€11.17
$13.83
 

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pay 7.4% more for clothing

 
Netherlands
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$84.34
€81.80
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.25
€37.10
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.60
€89.80
$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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