Boston vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3345
$4044
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7700
$8222
🏠 One person rent
$2257
$2662
🏘️ Family rent
$3867
$3953
🍽️ Food expenses
$739
$794
🚐 Transport expenses
$146
$392
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5860
$6298
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
92
96
🏙️ Population
676K
8.8M

The cost of living in Boston is 17% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 35th and 6th ($3345 vs $4044) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 30th and 4th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Boston compared to 1.6 months in New York City. Ranked 10th vs 1st best cities to live in the United States, and 83rd vs 8th 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 New York City infographic

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
$22.1
$24.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$90.5
$108
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12
$11.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.95
$8.64
 Cappuccino
$5.4
$5.71
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.65
$2.94
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2636
$3504
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1919
$2240
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4850
$3748
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3294
$3719
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$127
$103
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$194
$162
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$67.3
$66.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.55%
6.65%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11687
$16943
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6831
$12588
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.4
$2.96
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.6
$135
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.9
$26.4
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.97
$1.05
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.24
$1.4
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$4.14
$4.11
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.26
$5.76
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.29
$5.55
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.4
$16.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.4
$15.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.6
$19.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.47
$5.87
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.08
$2.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.3
$5.87
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.24
$6.18
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.43
$3.38
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.73
$3.81
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.67
$1.64
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.3
$3
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.6
$20
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.91
$2.67
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.1
$16.7
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.3
$9.36
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.01
$7.02
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.02
$6.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.01
$2.37
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$93
$115
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$16
$18.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$165
$111
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.2
$27.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.3
$68.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$93.5
$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2399
$1647
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$27937
$17859

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
$3795
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3105
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3630
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$2892
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3114
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$2953
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$2770
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2989
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$3022
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$3023
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$2958
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2802
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$2947
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2820
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2890
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2841
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3122
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2761
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2846
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$3042
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2618
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2847
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2796
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2723
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2746
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$2915
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$2905
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2698
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2859
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2338
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2677
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2773
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2556
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2823
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$2537
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2522
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2594
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2787
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2395
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2750

Cities near New York City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi Astoria
$2529
11 km or 6.8 mi Hoboken
$2821
11 km or 7.1 mi Jersey
$3002
13 km or 8.3 mi Union
$2743
14 km or 8.8 mi West New York
$2739
14 km or 8.9 mi Bayonne
$3241
15 km or 9.6 mi North Bergen
$2691
17 km or 10 mi Secaucus
$2638
17 km or 11 mi Cliffside Park
$2613
18 km or 11 mi Kearny
$2494
20 km or 12 mi Valley Stream
$2608
20 km or 13 mi Fort Lee
$2612
20 km or 13 mi Lyndhurst
$2520
22 km or 14 mi Newark
$1956
23 km or 14 mi Elizabeth
$2622
23 km or 14 mi Belleville
$2400
25 km or 15 mi Hillside
$2464
25 km or 15 mi Long Beach
$2612
25 km or 15 mi Nutley
$2433
25 km or 16 mi East Orange
$2351
25 km or 16 mi Irvington
$2338
26 km or 16 mi Rockville Centre
$2521
26 km or 16 mi Linden
$2684
26 km or 16 mi Hackensack
$2653
26 km or 16 mi Bloomfield
$2422
26 km or 16 mi Teaneck
$2638
26 km or 16 mi Carteret
$2695
26 km or 16 mi Passaic
$2615
27 km or 17 mi Roselle
$2660
27 km or 17 mi Hempstead
$2627
28 km or 17 mi Union Township
$2614
28 km or 18 mi Clifton
$2698
28 km or 18 mi Maplewood
$2534
29 km or 18 mi Montclair
$2404
29 km or 18 mi Bergenfield
$2737
29 km or 18 mi Mount Vernon
$2784
30 km or 18 mi Rahway
$2694
30 km or 18 mi Uniondale
$2465
30 km or 18 mi West Orange
$2447
30 km or 18 mi New Rochelle
$3028