Boston vs Chicago - Cost of Living Comparison
Updated:
| Boston | Chicago | |
|---|---|---|
| 🚶 Cost of living one person | ||
| 👨👩👧👦 Cost of living Family | ||
| 🏠 One person rent | ||
| 🏘️ Family rent | ||
| 🍽️ Food expenses | ||
| 🚐 Transport expenses | ||
| 💳 Monthly salary after tax | ||
| 😷 Air quality | ||
| ✈️ Airport proximity | ||
| 🎓 Higher education | ||
| 😀 Quality of life | ||
| 🏙️ Population |
The cost of living in Boston is 32% more expensive than in Chicago. Cities ranked 24th and 529th ($3547 vs $2678) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 483rd in the United States.
The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Boston compared to 1.8 months in Chicago. Ranked 17th vs 3rd best cities to live in the United States, and 103rd vs 23rd among the best cities to live in the world.
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the estimated difference in money purchasing power
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Prices in Boston vs Chicago
Prices for goods and services in Boston and Chicago are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.
| Boston | Chicago | |
|---|---|---|
| Eating Out | ||
| 🍱 Lunch Menu | ||
| 🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2 | ||
| 🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's | ||
| 🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | ||
| ☕ Cappuccino | ||
| 🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz | ||
| Rent & Utilities | ||
| 🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | ||
| 🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | ||
| 🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc. | ||
| 🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc. | ||
| 🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited | ||
| 🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years | ||
| 🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | ||
| Transportation | ||
| 🚌 Local transport ticket | ||
| 🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport | ||
| 🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi | ||
| ⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal | ||
| Groceries | ||
| 🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt | ||
| 🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb | ||
| 🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥚 Eggs, x12 | ||
| 🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt | ||
| 🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz | ||
| 🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle | ||
| 🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | ||
| 🚬 Cigarette pack | ||
| 💊 Cold medicince, 1 week | ||
| 🧴 Hair Shampoo | ||
| 🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls | ||
| 👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube | ||
| Other | ||
| 🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month | ||
| 🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person | ||
| 👩⚕️ Doctor's visit | ||
| 💇 Haircut, simple | ||
| 👖 Brand Jeans | ||
| 👟 Brand Sneakers | ||
| 👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month | ||
| 🏫 International Primary School, 1 year | ||
Cost of living in other countries
Cost of living
$349
$907
$6.64K
More cities to compare
Cost of Living in the nearest cities
Cities near Boston
| Distance | City | Cost of living |
|---|---|---|
| 4 km or 2.5 mi |  Cambridge | |
| 4.4 km or 2.7 mi | Chelsea | |
| 4.5 km or 2.8 mi | Somerville | |
| 5.6 km or 3.5 mi | Everett | |
| 5.7 km or 3.5 mi | Brookline | |
| 6.9 km or 4.3 mi | Revere | |
| 7.4 km or 4.6 mi | Malden | |
| 7.6 km or 4.7 mi | Medford | |
| 10 km or 6.2 mi | Belmont | |
| 10 km or 6.2 mi | Arlington | |
| 10 km or 6.2 mi | Watertown | |
| 11 km or 6.9 mi | Melrose | |
| 12 km or 7.5 mi | Milton | |
| 12 km or 7.5 mi | Winchester | |
| 12 km or 7.7 mi | Newton | |
| 13 km or 7.8 mi | Saugus | |
| 13 km or 8.1 mi | Quincy | |
| 14 km or 8.6 mi | Stoneham | |
| 14 km or 8.9 mi | Waltham | |
| 15 km or 9.4 mi | Lynn | |
| 15 km or 9.5 mi | Woburn | |
| 16 km or 9.6 mi | Dedham | |
| 16 km or 10 mi | Needham | |
| 16 km or 10 mi | Lexington | |
| 16 km or 10 mi | Wakefield | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Braintree | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Weymouth | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Reading | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Hingham | |
| 20 km or 12 mi | Burlington | |
| 20 km or 13 mi | Wellesley | |
| 21 km or 13 mi | Norwood | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Peabody | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Randolph | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Salem | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Wilmington | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Marblehead | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Canton | |
| 25 km or 16 mi | Natick | |
| 26 km or 16 mi | Stoughton |
Cities near Chicago
| Distance | City | Cost of living |
|---|---|---|
| 11 km or 7 mi | Cicero | |
| 14 km or 8.8 mi | Berwyn | |
| 14 km or 8.9 mi | Oak Park | |
| 16 km or 10 mi | Elmwood Park | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Maywood | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Evanston | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Skokie | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Burbank | |
| 20 km or 12 mi | Melrose Park | |
| 21 km or 13 mi | Oak Lawn | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Morton Grove | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Niles | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Park Ridge | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Wilmette | |
| 25 km or 16 mi | Blue Island | |
| 26 km or 16 mi | Elmhurst | |
| 27 km or 17 mi | Glenview | |
| 28 km or 17 mi | Des Plaines | |
| 28 km or 18 mi | Dolton | |
| 29 km or 18 mi | Villa Park | |
| 30 km or 19 mi | Harvey | |
| 30 km or 19 mi | East Chicago | |
| 30 km or 19 mi | Westmont | |
| 31 km or 19 mi | Calumet | |
| 31 km or 20 mi | South Holland | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Lombard | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Hammond | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Oak Forest | |
| 33 km or 20 mi | Northbrook | |
| 33 km or 20 mi | Mount Prospect | |
| 33 km or 20 mi | Darien | |
| 33 km or 21 mi | Elk Grove Village | |
| 34 km or 21 mi | Downers Grove | |
| 35 km or 22 mi | Orland Park | |
| 36 km or 22 mi | Lansing | |
| 36 km or 22 mi | Glen Ellyn | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Highland Park | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Munster | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Tinley Park | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Wheeling |