Boston vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison
Updated:
| Boston | San Francisco | |
|---|---|---|
| 🚶 Cost of living one person | ||
| 👨👩👧👦 Cost of living Family | ||
| 🏠 One person rent | ||
| 🏘️ Family rent | ||
| 🍽️ Food expenses | ||
| 🚐 Transport expenses | ||
| 💳 Monthly salary after tax | ||
| 😷 Air quality | ||
| ✈️ Airport proximity | ||
| 🎓 Higher education | ||
| 😀 Quality of life | ||
| 🏙️ Population |
The cost of living in Boston is 10% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 30th and 7th ($3638 vs $4040) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st 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 1.8 months in San Francisco. Ranked 16th vs 4th best cities to live in the United States, and 94th vs 30th 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 San Francisco
Prices for goods and services in Boston and San Francisco are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.
| Boston | San Francisco | |
|---|---|---|
| Eating Out | ||
| 🍱 Lunch Menu | ||
| 🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2 | ||
| 🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's | ||
| 🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | ||
| ☕ Cappuccino | ||
| 🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz | ||
| Rent & Utilities | ||
| 🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | ||
| 🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | ||
| 🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc. | ||
| 🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc. | ||
| 🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited | ||
| 🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years | ||
| 🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | ||
| 🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | ||
| Transportation | ||
| 🚌 Local transport ticket | ||
| 🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport | ||
| 🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi | ||
| ⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal | ||
| Groceries | ||
| 🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt | ||
| 🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb | ||
| 🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥚 Eggs, x12 | ||
| 🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | ||
| 🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt | ||
| 🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz | ||
| 🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle | ||
| 🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | ||
| 🚬 Cigarette pack | ||
| 💊 Cold medicince, 1 week | ||
| 🧴 Hair Shampoo | ||
| 🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls | ||
| 👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube | ||
| Other | ||
| 🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month | ||
| 🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person | ||
| 👩⚕️ Doctor's visit | ||
| 💇 Haircut, simple | ||
| 👖 Brand Jeans | ||
| 👟 Brand Sneakers | ||
| 👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month | ||
| 🏫 International Primary School, 1 year | ||
Cost of living in other countries
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 | |
| 4.4 km or 2.7 mi | Chelsea | |
| 4.5 km or 2.8 mi | Somerville | |
| 5.6 km or 3.5 mi | Everett | |
| 5.7 km or 3.5 mi | Brookline | |
| 6.9 km or 4.3 mi | Revere | |
| 7.4 km or 4.6 mi | Malden | |
| 7.6 km or 4.7 mi | Medford | |
| 10 km or 6.2 mi | Belmont | |
| 10 km or 6.2 mi | Arlington | |
| 10 km or 6.2 mi | Watertown | |
| 11 km or 6.9 mi | Melrose | |
| 12 km or 7.5 mi | Milton | |
| 12 km or 7.5 mi | Winchester | |
| 12 km or 7.7 mi | Newton | |
| 13 km or 7.8 mi | Saugus | |
| 13 km or 8.1 mi | Quincy | |
| 14 km or 8.6 mi | Stoneham | |
| 14 km or 8.9 mi | Waltham | |
| 15 km or 9.4 mi | Lynn | |
| 15 km or 9.5 mi | Woburn | |
| 16 km or 9.6 mi | Dedham | |
| 16 km or 10 mi | Needham | |
| 16 km or 10 mi | Lexington | |
| 16 km or 10 mi | Wakefield | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Braintree | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Weymouth | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Reading | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Hingham | |
| 20 km or 12 mi | Burlington | |
| 20 km or 13 mi | Wellesley | |
| 21 km or 13 mi | Norwood | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Peabody | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Randolph | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Salem | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Wilmington | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Marblehead | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Canton | |
| 25 km or 16 mi | Natick | |
| 26 km or 16 mi | Stoughton |
Cities near San Francisco
| Distance | City | Cost of living |
|---|---|---|
| 11 km or 6.9 mi | Daly | |
| 14 km or 8.4 mi | South San Francisco | |
| 14 km or 8.8 mi | Alameda | |
| 15 km or 9.2 mi | Oakland | |
| 16 km or 10 mi | Albany | |
| 17 km or 10 mi | Berkeley | |
| 17 km or 11 mi | San Bruno | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | El Cerrito | |
| 18 km or 11 mi | Pacifica | |
| 19 km or 12 mi | Richmond | |
| 20 km or 12 mi | Millbrae | |
| 21 km or 13 mi | San Pablo | |
| 22 km or 14 mi | Burlingame | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | San Leandro | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | San Rafael | |
| 26 km or 16 mi | San Mateo | |
| 28 km or 17 mi | San Lorenzo | |
| 28 km or 18 mi | Foster | |
| 29 km or 18 mi | Lafayette | |
| 29 km or 18 mi | Hercules | |
| 31 km or 19 mi | Belmont | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Hayward | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Castro Valley | |
| 34 km or 21 mi | San Carlos | |
| 34 km or 21 mi | Walnut Creek | |
| 36 km or 23 mi | Redwood | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Martinez | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Danville | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Pleasant Hill | |
| 38 km or 24 mi | Union | |
| 39 km or 24 mi | San Ramon | |
| 39 km or 24 mi | Vallejo | |
| 39 km or 24 mi | Novato | |
| 39 km or 24 mi | Benicia | |
| 41 km or 25 mi | Concord | |
| 42 km or 26 mi | Menlo Park | |
| 42 km or 26 mi | East Palo Alto | |
| 43 km or 27 mi | Newark | |
| 45 km or 28 mi | Dublin | |
| 46 km or 28 mi | Palo Alto |