Boston vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3547
$4441
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7979
$10033
🏠 One person rent
$2453
$2960
🏘️ Family rent
$4007
$5380
🍽️ Food expenses
$729
$886
🚐 Transport expenses
$146
$364
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5732
$5544
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
91
95
🏙️ Population
676K
8.8M

The cost of living in Boston is 20% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 24th and 3rd ($3547 vs $4441) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 1st in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Boston compared to 1.2 months in New York City. Ranked 17th vs 2nd best cities to live in the United States, and 103rd vs 22nd 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 New York City infographic

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Prices in Boston vs New York City

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

Boston New York City
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$21.6
$29.7
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$101
$133
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.3
$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.36
$8.94
 Cappuccino
$5.8
$5.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.99
$3.2
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2794
$3501
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2107
$2603
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5075
$4776
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3386
$5236
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$140
$112
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$215
$171
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$68
$65.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.63%
6.55%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10352
$17935
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5877
$12929
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.39
$2.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.1
$132
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$18.1
$22.5
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.92
$1
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.19
$1.53
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.95
$5.04
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.06
$7.95
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.67
$5.54
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.4
$17.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.5
$15.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.3
$20
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.17
$7.6
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.14
$2.37
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.61
$6.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.54
$6.2
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.72
$3.66
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.61
$3.84
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.8
$1.72
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.78
$3.41
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.2
$20
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.77
$2.89
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.5
$18.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.78
$9.89
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8.02
$5.44
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.05
$6.94
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.97
$1.95
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$79.2
$71
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$16.2
$20.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$195
$173
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.7
$36.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$63.8
$67.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$101
$113
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2725
$1784
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$31112
$21465

Cost of living in other countries

BostonNew York City

Cost of living

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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
$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 New York City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi Astoria
$2534
11 km or 6.8 mi Hoboken
$3271
11 km or 7.1 mi Jersey
$3040
13 km or 8.3 mi Union
$2886
14 km or 8.8 mi West New York
$2703
14 km or 8.9 mi Bayonne
$3302
15 km or 9.6 mi North Bergen
$2701
17 km or 10 mi Secaucus
$2756
17 km or 11 mi Cliffside Park
$2698
18 km or 11 mi Kearny
$2720
20 km or 12 mi Valley Stream
$2730
20 km or 13 mi Fort Lee
$2792
20 km or 13 mi Lyndhurst
$2667
22 km or 14 mi Newark
$2729
23 km or 14 mi Elizabeth
$2740
23 km or 14 mi Belleville
$2512
25 km or 15 mi Hillside
$2693
25 km or 15 mi Long Beach
$2732
25 km or 15 mi Nutley
$2531
25 km or 16 mi East Orange
$2587
25 km or 16 mi Irvington
$2637
26 km or 16 mi Rockville Centre
$2614
26 km or 16 mi Linden
$2749
26 km or 16 mi Hackensack
$2664
26 km or 16 mi Bloomfield
$2480
26 km or 16 mi Teaneck
$2715
26 km or 16 mi Carteret
$2722
26 km or 16 mi Passaic
$2676
27 km or 17 mi Roselle
$2747
27 km or 17 mi Hempstead
$2664
28 km or 17 mi Union Township
$2716
28 km or 18 mi Clifton
$2745
28 km or 18 mi Maplewood
$2611
29 km or 18 mi Montclair
$2456
29 km or 18 mi Bergenfield
$2674
29 km or 18 mi Mount Vernon
$2772
30 km or 18 mi Rahway
$2730
30 km or 18 mi Uniondale
$2610
30 km or 18 mi West Orange
$2456
30 km or 18 mi New Rochelle
$3111