Boston vs San Jose, United States - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3652
$3952
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$8068
$8290
🏠 One person rent
$2548
$2795
🏘️ Family rent
$4099
$4452
🍽️ Food expenses
$735
$775
🚐 Transport expenses
$144
$174
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6190
$5915
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
8 km
🎓 Higher education
100
87
😀 Quality of life
94
93
🏙️ Population
676K
1.01M

The cost of living in Boston is 8% less expensive than in San Jose, United States. Cities ranked 27th and 6th ($3652 vs $3952) 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 1.7 months in Boston compared to 1.5 months in San Jose, United States. Ranked 12th vs 21st best cities to live in the United States, and 71st vs 88th 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 San Jose, United States infographic

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Prices in Boston vs San Jose, United States

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

Boston San Jose
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$22
$20.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$104
$99.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.7
$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.06
$9.08
 Cappuccino
$5.6
$5.87
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.89
$3.45
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2890
$2999
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2183
$2438
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5272
$4520
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3425
$4008
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$150
$175
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$231
$272
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$74.5
$70
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.39%
6.45%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9693
$10416
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6005
$9325
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.39
$2.48
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$89.8
$90.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.5
$18.3
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.9
$1.27
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.13
$1.5
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.68
$5.04
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.86
$3.21
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.54
$5.39
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.6
$22.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.7
$15.5
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.2
$23
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.6
$6.54
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$2.61
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.14
$5.77
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.83
$6.69
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.32
$4.3
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.74
$3.17
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.62
$1.88
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.82
$3.06
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17
$15.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.29
$2.31
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.4
$11.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.56
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.02
$6.98
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.01
$6.98
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.01
$2.51
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$93.3
$113
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.5
$16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$189
$176
💇 Haircut, simple
$27.9
$21
👖 Brand Jeans
$66.5
$56.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$110
$88.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2782
$1874
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$27427
$22302

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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 San Jose, United States

Distance City Cost of living
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Campbell
$3424
9.7 km or 6.1 mi Santa Clara
$3476
11 km or 6.8 mi Los Gatos
$4335
13 km or 8.4 mi Saratoga
$3356
15 km or 9.1 mi Milpitas
$3202
15 km or 9.3 mi Cupertino
$2942
16 km or 10 mi Sunnyvale
$3426
18 km or 11 mi Mountain View
$3415
21 km or 13 mi Los Altos
$3182
27 km or 17 mi Palo Alto
$3765
27 km or 17 mi Morgan Hill
$3130
28 km or 18 mi Fremont
$3328
29 km or 18 mi Newark
$3133
29 km or 18 mi East Palo Alto
$3333
32 km or 20 mi Menlo Park
$3359
36 km or 22 mi Union
$3045
38 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3890
39 km or 24 mi Santa Cruz
$3719
41 km or 25 mi San Carlos
$3382
41 km or 25 mi Pleasanton
$3462
42 km or 26 mi Gilroy
$2955
43 km or 27 mi Livermore
$3089
44 km or 27 mi Watsonville
$3748
44 km or 27 mi Belmont
$3553
44 km or 28 mi Foster
$3634
45 km or 28 mi Hayward
$2826
46 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3070
47 km or 29 mi San Lorenzo
$2810
48 km or 30 mi San Mateo
$3756
48 km or 30 mi Castro Valley
$2957
53 km or 33 mi San Leandro
$3071
53 km or 33 mi Burlingame
$3317
54 km or 33 mi San Ramon
$2850
57 km or 36 mi Millbrae
$3285
59 km or 36 mi Danville
$3818
60 km or 38 mi San Bruno
$3230
61 km or 38 mi Alameda
$3255
62 km or 38 mi Tracy
$2114
63 km or 39 mi South San Francisco
$3227
64 km or 40 mi Oakland
$3254