Cost of living comparison

compared to
Boston vs. Toronto Cost of Living Summary

Boston is 37.9% more expensive than Toronto.

Restaurants
pay 29.2% more in Boston
Groceries
pay 47.5% more in Boston
Transportation
pay 1.1% more in Boston
Housing
pay 63.6% more in Boston
Childcare
pay 74.7% more in Boston
Entertainment and Sports
pay 35.7% more in Boston
Clothing
pay 13.8% more in Boston

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

Boston vs. Toronto Cost Breakdown

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

pay 29.2% more for restaurants

 
Toronto
Boston
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.12
CA$29.06
$22.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.78
CA$15.57
$12.55
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.20
CA$3.18
$3.14
 

Improve prices ·

pay 47.5% more for groceries

 
Toronto
Boston
Bread
1 loaf
$2.82
CA$4.08
$4.39
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.64
CA$8.15
$9.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $12.09
CA$17.46
$4.97
 

Improve prices ·

pay 1.1% more for transportation

 
Toronto
Boston
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.38
CA$6.33
$3.64
 
Monthly public transit pass $112.08
CA$161.93
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $24,490.95
CA$35,383.31
$32,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 63.6% more for housing

 
Toronto
Boston
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$51.33
CA$74.16
$70.88
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,807.04
CA$2,610.73
$3,280.96
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,526.54
CA$2,205.47
$2,453.85
 

Improve prices ·

pay 74.7% more for childcare

 
Toronto
Boston
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,179.39
CA$1,703.93
$2,428.57
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $17,423.23
CA$25,172.21
$25,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 35.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Toronto
Boston
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.75
CA$8.30
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.04
CA$5.83
$5.79
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$14.37
CA$20.76
$13.83
 

Improve prices ·

pay 13.8% more for clothing

 
Toronto
Boston
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$59.77
CA$86.35
$64.32
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$39.77
CA$57.46
$43.83
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$95.97
CA$138.65
$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

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Canada vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Canada and United States.

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 Toronto. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.