Boston vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3652
$4203
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$8068
$9136
🏠 One person rent
$2548
$2713
🏘️ Family rent
$4099
$4396
🍽️ Food expenses
$735
$874
🚐 Transport expenses
$144
$379
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6190
$5599
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
94
98
🏙️ Population
676K
8.8M

The cost of living in Boston is 13% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 27th and 4th ($3652 vs $4203) 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 1.7 months in Boston compared to 1.3 months in New York City. Ranked 12th vs 1st best cities to live in the United States, and 71st vs 11th 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
$22
$23.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$104
$92.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.7
$14
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.06
$8.67
 Cappuccino
$5.6
$6.18
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.89
$3.07
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2890
$3669
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2183
$2221
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5272
$5076
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3425
$3880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$150
$137
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$231
$211
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$74.5
$66.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.39%
6.42%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9693
$15299
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6005
$11127
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.39
$2.93
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$89.8
$134
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.5
$25
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.9
$0.9
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.13
$1.58
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.68
$4.49
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.86
$6.71
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.54
$7.75
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.6
$19.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.7
$15.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.2
$19.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.6
$7.19
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$2.5
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.14
$5.91
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.83
$6.35
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.32
$3.38
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.74
$3.71
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.62
$1.66
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.82
$3.76
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17
$18.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.29
$4.3
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.4
$18.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.56
$23.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.02
$13.9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.01
$8.03
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.01
$2.87
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$93.3
$128
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.5
$20.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$189
$157
💇 Haircut, simple
$27.9
$37.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$66.5
$63.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$110
$119
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2782
$1884
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$27427
$22663

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Cities near Boston

Distance City Cost of living
4 km or 2.5 mi Cambridge
$3768
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3107
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3647
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$2977
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3134
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$2960
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$3002
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2701
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$2997
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$2937
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$2952
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2865
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$2981
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2821
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2811
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2815
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3159
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2785
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2866
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$2732
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2646
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2915
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2854
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2769
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2750
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$2922
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$2929
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2728
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2913
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2414
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2838
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2862
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2837
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2869
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$3016
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2582
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2817
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2855
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2920
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2833

Cities near New York City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi Astoria
$2569
11 km or 6.8 mi Hoboken
$3364
11 km or 7.1 mi Jersey
$3066
13 km or 8.3 mi Union
$2913
14 km or 8.8 mi West New York
$2733
14 km or 8.9 mi Bayonne
$3253
15 km or 9.6 mi North Bergen
$2717
17 km or 10 mi Secaucus
$2783
17 km or 11 mi Cliffside Park
$2727
18 km or 11 mi Kearny
$2725
20 km or 12 mi Valley Stream
$2735
20 km or 13 mi Fort Lee
$2811
20 km or 13 mi Lyndhurst
$2671
22 km or 14 mi Newark
$2712
23 km or 14 mi Elizabeth
$2765
23 km or 14 mi Belleville
$2538
25 km or 15 mi Hillside
$2688
25 km or 15 mi Long Beach
$2756
25 km or 15 mi Nutley
$2545
25 km or 16 mi East Orange
$2475
25 km or 16 mi Irvington
$2614
26 km or 16 mi Rockville Centre
$2647
26 km or 16 mi Linden
$2770
26 km or 16 mi Hackensack
$2705
26 km or 16 mi Bloomfield
$2513
26 km or 16 mi Teaneck
$2749
26 km or 16 mi Carteret
$2774
26 km or 16 mi Passaic
$2695
27 km or 17 mi Roselle
$2769
27 km or 17 mi Hempstead
$2655
28 km or 17 mi Union Township
$2730
28 km or 18 mi Clifton
$2718
28 km or 18 mi Maplewood
$2609
29 km or 18 mi Montclair
$2506
29 km or 18 mi Bergenfield
$2723
29 km or 18 mi Mount Vernon
$2911
30 km or 18 mi Rahway
$2779
30 km or 18 mi Uniondale
$2680
30 km or 18 mi West Orange
$2470
30 km or 18 mi New Rochelle
$3174