Cost of living comparison

compared to
Boston vs. New York Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 22.0% more expensive than New York.

Restaurants
pay 26.9% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 25.0% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 4.4% less in Boston
Housing
pay 34.6% more in Boston
Childcare
pay 30.6% more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 18.6% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 23.0% more in Boston

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

Boston vs. New York Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Boston instead of New York, you would:

pay 26.9% more for restaurants

 
New York
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.04
 
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.50
 
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.37
 
$3.14
 

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pay 25.0% more for groceries

 
New York
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$3.74
 
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.35
 
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.05
 
$4.97
 

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pay 4.4% less for transportation

 
New York
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.60
 
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $97.65
 
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,535.81
 
$32,000.00
 

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pay 34.6% more for housing

 
New York
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$63.86
 
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,925.71
 
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,646.33
 
$2,453.85
 

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pay 30.6% more for childcare

 
New York
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,553.18
 
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,861.84
 
$25,000.00
 

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pay 18.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
New York
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.09
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.84
 
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.68
 
$13.83
 

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pay 23.0% more for clothing

 
New York
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.08
 
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.74
 
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$82.58
 
$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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