Boston vs Houston - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston Houston
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3547
$2265
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7979
$5664
🏠 One person rent
$2453
$1305
🏘️ Family rent
$4007
$2467
🍽️ Food expenses
$729
$581
🚐 Transport expenses
$146
$212
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5732
$4390
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
91
91
🏙️ Population
676K
2.3M

The cost of living in Boston is 57% more expensive than in Houston. Cities ranked 24th and 1229th ($3547 vs $2265) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 1115th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Boston compared to 1.9 months in Houston. Ranked 17th vs 14th best cities to live in the United States, and 103rd vs 97th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
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
$21.6
$17.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$101
$76
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.3
$10.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.36
$5.88
 Cappuccino
$5.8
$5.4
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.99
$2.71
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2794
$1390
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2107
$1037
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5075
$2766
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3386
$2058
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$140
$132
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$215
$202
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$68
$65.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.63%
6.58%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10352
$2714
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5877
$1949
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.39
$1.25
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.1
$71.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$18.1
$23.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.92
$0.79
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.19
$0.92
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.95
$3
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.06
$3.4
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.67
$4.07
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.4
$11.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.5
$11.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.3
$16.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.17
$4.29
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.14
$1.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.61
$3.95
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.54
$3.04
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.72
$2.73
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.61
$2.43
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.8
$1.34
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.78
$3.01
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.2
$14.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.77
$2.15
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.5
$9.62
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.78
$9.29
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8.02
$5.13
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.05
$3.64
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.97
$2.46
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$79.2
$37.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$16.2
$14.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$195
$127
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.7
$21.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$63.8
$50.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$101
$98.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2725
$1470
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$31112
$18964

Cost of living in other countries

BostonHouston

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
$3805
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3101
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3627
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$2936
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3088
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$2948
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$2922
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2320
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$2943
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$2834
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$2906
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2803
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$2939
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2710
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2784
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2883
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3131
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2740
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2813
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$3088
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2601
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2873
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2824
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2774
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2783
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$2934
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$2922
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2732
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2882
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2403
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2805
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2844
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2851
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2866
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$3022
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2592
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2848
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2833
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2861
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2825

Cities near Houston

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Pasadena
$2182
25 km or 15 mi Pearland
$2108
25 km or 16 mi Missouri
$2087
27 km or 17 mi Deer Park
$2196
29 km or 18 mi Sugar Land
$2028
32 km or 20 mi Spring
$2093
33 km or 21 mi Friendswood
$2097
35 km or 22 mi La Porte
$2232
40 km or 25 mi Baytown
$2311
41 km or 25 mi League
$2065
42 km or 26 mi Alvin
$2056
47 km or 29 mi Rosenberg
$2107
48 km or 30 mi The Woodlands
$2698
59 km or 37 mi Texas City
$2014
62 km or 38 mi Conroe
$1799
76 km or 47 mi Galveston
$1855
81 km or 50 mi Lake Jackson
$2089
108 km or 67 mi Huntsville
$2089
126 km or 78 mi Beaumont
$1673
129 km or 80 mi College Station
$1853
138 km or 86 mi Bryan
$1944
140 km or 87 mi Port Arthur
$1907
186 km or 115 mi Lufkin
$1878
188 km or 117 mi Victoria
$2215
203 km or 126 mi Sulphur
$2037
215 km or 134 mi Lake Charles
$1986
217 km or 135 mi Nacogdoches
$1510
229 km or 142 mi Pflugerville
$2218
234 km or 145 mi Austin
$2455
236 km or 146 mi Round Rock
$2163
239 km or 149 mi Temple
$2134
242 km or 150 mi Kyle
$2223
242 km or 150 mi Georgetown
$2192
247 km or 153 mi San Marcos
$2224
249 km or 155 mi Cedar Park
$2244
250 km or 156 mi Seguin
$2182
254 km or 158 mi Leander
$2260
261 km or 162 mi Waco
$2230
262 km or 163 mi Harker Heights
$2044
264 km or 164 mi New Braunfels
$2182