Boston vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3638
$4207
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$8082
$9179
🏠 One person rent
$2543
$2718
🏘️ Family rent
$4126
$4382
🍽️ Food expenses
$722
$875
🚐 Transport expenses
$145
$373
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6556
$5229
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
92
95
🏙️ Population
676K
8.8M

The cost of living in Boston is 14% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 30th and 4th ($3638 vs $4207) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 2nd in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Boston compared to 1.2 months in New York City. Ranked 16th vs 2nd best cities to live in the United States, and 94th vs 18th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Share this infographic!

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
$21.5
$23.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$103
$107
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.9
$13.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.04
$8.27
☕ Cappuccino
$5.31
$5.88
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.85
$2.87
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2878
$3712
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2181
$2223
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5280
$5056
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3456
$3881
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$147
$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$229
$200
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$76.1
$66.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.34%
6.64%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11142
$17512
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6207
$9335
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.41
$3.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.6
$134
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.8
$23.8
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.87
$0.89
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.19
$1.38
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.63
$4.55
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.64
$6.56
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.6
$7.96
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.1
$19.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.7
$15.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.4
$19.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.14
$6.67
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.15
$2.42
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.48
$5.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.77
$6.34
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.11
$3.09
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.73
$3.46
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.6
$1.65
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.78
$3.77
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.2
$18.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.07
$4.32
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.1
$18.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.48
$23.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.06
$13.9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4
$7.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.99
$2.83
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$89.2
$118
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.9
$21.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$190
$156
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.2
$40.7
👖 Brand Jeans
$67.6
$68.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$115
$116
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2835
$2132
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$26679
$21999

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

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
$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 New York City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi Astoria
$2850
11 km or 6.8 mi Hoboken
$3614
11 km or 7.1 mi Jersey
$3134
13 km or 8.3 mi Union
$3092
14 km or 8.8 mi West New York
$2814
14 km or 8.9 mi Bayonne
$3307
15 km or 9.6 mi North Bergen
$2803
17 km or 10 mi Secaucus
$2868
17 km or 11 mi Cliffside Park
$2738
18 km or 11 mi Kearny
$2781
20 km or 12 mi Valley Stream
$2803
20 km or 13 mi Fort Lee
$2801
20 km or 13 mi Lyndhurst
$2696
22 km or 14 mi Newark
$2750
23 km or 14 mi Elizabeth
$2792
23 km or 14 mi Belleville
$2533
25 km or 15 mi Hillside
$2717
25 km or 15 mi Long Beach
$2809
25 km or 15 mi Nutley
$2539
25 km or 16 mi East Orange
$2512
25 km or 16 mi Irvington
$2665
26 km or 16 mi Rockville Centre
$2684
26 km or 16 mi Linden
$2774
26 km or 16 mi Hackensack
$2685
26 km or 16 mi Bloomfield
$2477
26 km or 16 mi Teaneck
$2702
26 km or 16 mi Carteret
$2782
26 km or 16 mi Passaic
$2665
27 km or 17 mi Roselle
$2772
27 km or 17 mi Hempstead
$2697
28 km or 17 mi Union Township
$2734
28 km or 18 mi Clifton
$2666
28 km or 18 mi Maplewood
$2638
29 km or 18 mi Montclair
$2497
29 km or 18 mi Bergenfield
$2687
29 km or 18 mi Mount Vernon
$2863
30 km or 18 mi Rahway
$2758
30 km or 18 mi Uniondale
$2690
30 km or 18 mi West Orange
$2503
30 km or 18 mi New Rochelle
$3188