Boston vs Houston - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston Houston
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3467
$2248
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7682
$5589
🏠 One person rent
$2394
$1325
🏘️ Family rent
$3923
$2490
🍽️ Food expenses
$726
$564
🚐 Transport expenses
$146
$201
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5787
$4672
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
92
92
🏙️ Population
676K
2.3M

The cost of living in Boston is 54% more expensive than in Houston. Cities ranked 32nd and 1258th ($3467 vs $2248) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 28th and 1108th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Boston compared to 2.1 months in Houston. Ranked 15th vs 13th best cities to live in the United States, and 89th vs 82nd among the best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Boston vs Houston infographic

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Prices in Boston vs Houston

Prices for goods and services in Boston and Houston are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Boston Houston
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$21.3
$16.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$93.5
$66.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$13.1
$9.71
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.4
$5.52
 Cappuccino
$5.78
$5.31
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.16
$2.49
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2739
$1392
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2042
$1059
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4881
$2964
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3321
$2036
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$144
$132
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$222
$200
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$68.4
$68
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.53%
6.66%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11569
$2925
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6730
$2076
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.4
$1.25
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.4
$71.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$18
$21.7
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.95
$0.79
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.21
$0.92
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.86
$3.07
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.86
$3.33
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.16
$3.95
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$17.4
$12.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.3
$11.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.7
$16.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.07
$4.51
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.14
$1.3
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.77
$3.69
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.47
$3.02
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.73
$2.71
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.78
$2.43
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.76
$1.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.74
$3.15
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$14.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.72
$2.02
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.4
$8.66
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.76
$9.31
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8.03
$5.09
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.03
$3.86
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2
$2.26
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$81
$37.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$16.1
$14.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$164
$110
💇 Haircut, simple
$21.7
$19.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.7
$49.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$100
$103
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2437
$1368
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$25118
$22908

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Boston

Distance City Cost of living
4 km or 2.5 mi Cambridge
$3756
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3040
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3647
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$2916
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3093
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$2932
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$3008
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2349
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$2951
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$2847
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$2913
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2826
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$2938
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2755
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2790
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2897
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3122
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2778
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2817
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$3172
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2735
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2869
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2797
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2746
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2846
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$2925
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$2920
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2773
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2869
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2443
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2798
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2804
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2878
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2848
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$3005
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2607
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2853
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2815
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2961
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2803

Cities near Houston

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Pasadena
$2101
25 km or 15 mi Pearland
$2080
25 km or 16 mi Missouri
$2143
27 km or 17 mi Deer Park
$2089
29 km or 18 mi Sugar Land
$2164
32 km or 20 mi Spring
$2093
33 km or 21 mi Friendswood
$2035
35 km or 22 mi La Porte
$2074
40 km or 25 mi Baytown
$2084
41 km or 25 mi League
$1983
42 km or 26 mi Alvin
$2003
47 km or 29 mi Rosenberg
$2151
48 km or 30 mi The Woodlands
$2692
59 km or 37 mi Texas City
$1971
62 km or 38 mi Conroe
$1798
76 km or 47 mi Galveston
$1844
81 km or 50 mi Lake Jackson
$2063
108 km or 67 mi Huntsville
$2129
126 km or 78 mi Beaumont
$1653
129 km or 80 mi College Station
$1764
138 km or 86 mi Bryan
$1890
140 km or 87 mi Port Arthur
$1865
186 km or 115 mi Lufkin
$1838
188 km or 117 mi Victoria
$2231
203 km or 126 mi Sulphur
$2004
215 km or 134 mi Lake Charles
$1960
217 km or 135 mi Nacogdoches
$1468
229 km or 142 mi Pflugerville
$2211
234 km or 145 mi Austin
$2473
236 km or 146 mi Round Rock
$2145
239 km or 149 mi Temple
$2186
242 km or 150 mi Kyle
$2223
242 km or 150 mi Georgetown
$2194
247 km or 153 mi San Marcos
$2226
249 km or 155 mi Cedar Park
$2232
250 km or 156 mi Seguin
$2177
254 km or 158 mi Leander
$2250
261 km or 162 mi Waco
$2223
262 km or 163 mi Harker Heights
$2075
264 km or 164 mi New Braunfels
$2156