Boston vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston Seattle
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3680
$3183
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$8143
$7493
🏠 One person rent
$2555
$1996
🏘️ Family rent
$4103
$3450
🍽️ Food expenses
$749
$789
🚐 Transport expenses
$146
$175
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6248
$6618
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
9 km
🎓 Higher education
100
80
😀 Quality of life
91
91
🏙️ Population
676K
737K

The cost of living in Boston is 16% more expensive than in Seattle. Cities ranked 27th and 126th ($3680 vs $3183) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 94th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Boston compared to 2.1 months in Seattle. Ranked 20th vs 33rd best cities to live in the United States, and 105th vs 147th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Share this picture

Prices in Boston vs Seattle

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

Boston Seattle
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$24.8
$20.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$102
$92.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12
$14.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.02
$7.95
☕ Cappuccino
$5.38
$6.46
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.8
$2.94
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2870
$2109
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2200
$1647
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5120
$3900
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3473
$2895
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$144
$182
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$224
$279
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$77.3
$74.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.34%
6.32%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$12808
$7971
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6220
$5180
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.39
$2.99
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.7
$117
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.9
$17.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.93
$1.29
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.14
$1.23
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.58
$4.33
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.32
$4.83
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.77
$5.97
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.7
$21.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$18.5
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.8
$22.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.92
$5.72
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.89
$1.92
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.58
$5.39
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.74
$6.03
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.32
$3.17
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.19
$3.34
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.84
$1.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.94
$3.43
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16.6
$16.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.98
$4.09
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13
$13.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.53
$9.26
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.96
$7.92
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4
$5.8
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.99
$2.36
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$89.6
$81.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.9
$17.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$192
$167
💇 Haircut, simple
$27.8
$28.5
👖 Brand Jeans
$73.4
$76.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$116
$119
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2859
$2124
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$26444
$30033

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
$3862
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3168
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3685
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$3012
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3170
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$3028
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$3009
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2712
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$3028
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$2977
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$3000
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2914
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$3038
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2866
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2910
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2866
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3232
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2845
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2886
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$2783
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2759
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2959
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2901
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2794
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2851
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$3007
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$3005
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2796
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2963
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2420
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2828
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2906
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2867
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2923
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$3022
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2636
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2855
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2900
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2890
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2890

Cities near Seattle

Distance City Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi Mercer Island
$2843
11 km or 6.5 mi Bellevue
$3164
14 km or 8.5 mi Kirkland
$3012
15 km or 9.2 mi Tukwila
$2648
15 km or 9.5 mi Burien
$2678
16 km or 10 mi Bainbridge Island
$2827
17 km or 10 mi Shoreline
$2782
17 km or 10 mi Renton
$2621
17 km or 11 mi Redmond
$3602
17 km or 11 mi Kenmore
$2749
19 km or 12 mi SeaTac
$2783
21 km or 13 mi Bothell
$2734
22 km or 14 mi Sammamish
$2884
22 km or 14 mi Edmonds
$2728
23 km or 14 mi Issaquah
$2797
24 km or 15 mi Des Moines
$2637
24 km or 15 mi Lynnwood
$2736
24 km or 15 mi Bremerton
$2479
26 km or 16 mi Kent
$2775
30 km or 19 mi Mill Creek
$2714
33 km or 20 mi Federal Way
$2542
34 km or 21 mi Maple Valley
$2617
35 km or 21 mi Mukilteo
$2709
35 km or 22 mi Auburn
$2342
41 km or 25 mi Everett
$2727
42 km or 26 mi Tacoma
$2429
46 km or 28 mi University Place
$2722
48 km or 30 mi Puyallup
$2822
50 km or 31 mi Lake Stevens
$2670
51 km or 32 mi Lakewood
$2576
52 km or 33 mi Marysville
$2661
57 km or 35 mi Spanaway
$2378
74 km or 46 mi Lacey
$2616
76 km or 47 mi Olympia
$2592
78 km or 48 mi Sequim
$2690
80 km or 50 mi Oak Harbor
$2773
90 km or 56 mi Mount Vernon
$2475
100 km or 62 mi Port Angeles
$2580
109 km or 68 mi Centralia
$2765
119 km or 74 mi Victoria
$2098