Boston vs Los Angeles - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston Los Angeles
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3638
$3378
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$8082
$7707
🏠 One person rent
$2543
$2168
🏘️ Family rent
$4126
$3725
🍽️ Food expenses
$722
$743
🚐 Transport expenses
$145
$257
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6556
$4258
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
17 km
🎓 Higher education
100
99
😀 Quality of life
92
93
🏙️ Population
676K
3.9M

The cost of living in Boston is 8% more expensive than in Los Angeles. Cities ranked 30th and 72nd ($3638 vs $3378) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 52nd in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Boston compared to 1.3 months in Los Angeles. Ranked 16th vs 8th best cities to live in the United States, and 94th vs 55th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Boston vs Los Angeles

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

Boston Los Angeles
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$21.5
$21.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$103
$91
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.9
$13.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.04
$8.85
 Cappuccino
$5.31
$6.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.85
$3.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2878
$2352
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2181
$1867
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5280
$4129
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3456
$3274
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$147
$139
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$229
$214
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$76.1
$65.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.34%
6.86%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11142
$7811
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6207
$7110
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.41
$1.99
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.6
$94
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.8
$18.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.87
$1.24
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.19
$1.31
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.63
$4.27
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.64
$4.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.6
$7.67
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.1
$15.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.7
$15.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.4
$20.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.14
$5.26
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.15
$2.66
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.48
$4.75
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.77
$4.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.11
$2.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.73
$2.78
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.6
$1.53
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.78
$3.45
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.2
$15.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.07
$3.39
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.1
$12.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.48
$9.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.06
$7.78
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4
$5.45
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.99
$2.81
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$89.2
$77.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.9
$18.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$190
$144
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.2
$32.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$67.6
$70.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$115
$107
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2835
$1715
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$26679
$28004

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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
$3830
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3097
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3650
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$2960
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3140
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$2981
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$3000
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2691
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$3017
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$2944
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$2966
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2870
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$3006
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2845
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2862
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2839
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3186
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2823
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2870
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$2762
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2714
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2921
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2837
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2771
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2808
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$2980
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$2986
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2786
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2939
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2405
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2803
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2866
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2859
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2894
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$3006
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2629
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2854
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2871
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2867
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2852

Cities near Los Angeles

Distance City Cost of living
8.1 km or 5 mi Huntington Park
$2879
8.9 km or 5.5 mi Maywood
$2850
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Florence-Graham
$2917
10 km or 6.2 mi Bell
$2847
10 km or 6.2 mi Monterey Park
$2749
11 km or 6.6 mi Alhambra
$2976
11 km or 6.6 mi South Pasadena
$2993
11 km or 7 mi Cudahy
$2810
12 km or 7.6 mi San Gabriel
$3159
12 km or 7.7 mi Bell Gardens
$2775
12 km or 7.8 mi West Hollywood
$3086
13 km or 7.8 mi Montebello
$2769
13 km or 8 mi South Gate
$2820
13 km or 8.2 mi Glendale
$3695
14 km or 8.8 mi Inglewood
$3020
15 km or 9 mi Beverly Hills
$2912
15 km or 9.1 mi Lynwood
$2835
15 km or 9.3 mi Rosemead
$2850
15 km or 9.5 mi Culver
$3020
15 km or 9.6 mi Pasadena
$3768
16 km or 9.9 mi Pico Rivera
$2796
16 km or 10 mi Burbank
$3328
16 km or 10 mi Downey
$2698
17 km or 11 mi Compton
$2880
18 km or 11 mi La Canada Flintridge
$3157
18 km or 11 mi Hawthorne
$3057
18 km or 11 mi Temple
$2894
18 km or 11 mi South El Monte
$2842
18 km or 11 mi West Whittier-Los Nietos
$2789
18 km or 11 mi Paramount
$2770
19 km or 12 mi Gardena
$3051
20 km or 12 mi El Monte
$2847
21 km or 13 mi Lawndale
$3193
21 km or 13 mi Arcadia
$3019
21 km or 13 mi Bellflower
$2702
22 km or 14 mi Norwalk
$2688
22 km or 14 mi Santa Monica
$3588
22 km or 14 mi Whittier
$2815
23 km or 15 mi Manhattan Beach
$3262
24 km or 15 mi Carson
$2974