Boston vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston Seattle
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3547
$3015
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7979
$7449
🏠 One person rent
$2453
$1896
🏘️ Family rent
$4007
$3549
🍽️ Food expenses
$729
$746
🚐 Transport expenses
$146
$160
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5732
$6742
😷 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 18% more expensive than in Seattle. Cities ranked 24th and 158th ($3547 vs $3015) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 140th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Boston compared to 2.2 months in Seattle. Ranked 17th vs 15th best cities to live in the United States, and 103rd vs 98th 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 Seattle infographic

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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
$21.6
$21.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$101
$90.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.3
$13.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.36
$7.98
 Cappuccino
$5.8
$5.55
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.99
$2.97
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2794
$2086
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2107
$1567
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5075
$3947
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3386
$3067
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$140
$157
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$215
$237
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$68
$68.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.63%
6.44%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10352
$6966
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5877
$5351
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.39
$2.73
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.1
$96.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$18.1
$18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.92
$1.16
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.19
$1.18
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.95
$4.03
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.06
$4.44
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.67
$4.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.4
$20.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.5
$14.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.3
$20.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.17
$5.19
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.14
$2.38
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.61
$5.37
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.54
$5.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.72
$2.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.61
$3.47
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.8
$1.56
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.78
$2.91
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.2
$17.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.77
$3.15
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.5
$12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.78
$10.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8.02
$5.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.05
$6.98
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.97
$2.49
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$79.2
$65.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$16.2
$16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$195
$183
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.7
$25.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$63.8
$68.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$101
$101
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2725
$2185
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$31112
$29407

Cost of living in other countries

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Cities near Boston

Distance City Cost of living
4 km or 2.5 mi Cambridge
$3805
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3101
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3627
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$2936
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3088
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$2948
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$2922
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2320
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$2943
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$2834
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$2906
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2803
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$2939
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2710
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2784
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2883
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3131
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2740
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2813
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$3088
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2601
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2873
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2824
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2774
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2783
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$2934
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$2922
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2732
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2882
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2403
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2805
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2844
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2851
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2866
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$3022
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2592
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2848
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2833
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2861
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2825

Cities near Seattle

Distance City Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi Mercer Island
$2826
11 km or 6.5 mi Bellevue
$3273
14 km or 8.5 mi Kirkland
$2882
15 km or 9.2 mi Tukwila
$2624
15 km or 9.5 mi Burien
$2642
16 km or 10 mi Bainbridge Island
$2810
17 km or 10 mi Shoreline
$2973
17 km or 10 mi Renton
$2595
17 km or 11 mi Redmond
$3239
17 km or 11 mi Kenmore
$2718
19 km or 12 mi SeaTac
$2741
21 km or 13 mi Bothell
$2625
22 km or 14 mi Sammamish
$2759
22 km or 14 mi Edmonds
$2785
23 km or 14 mi Issaquah
$2606
24 km or 15 mi Des Moines
$2623
24 km or 15 mi Lynnwood
$2726
24 km or 15 mi Bremerton
$2462
26 km or 16 mi Kent
$2784
30 km or 19 mi Mill Creek
$2642
33 km or 20 mi Federal Way
$2532
34 km or 21 mi Maple Valley
$2579
35 km or 21 mi Mukilteo
$2637
35 km or 22 mi Auburn
$2338
41 km or 25 mi Everett
$2589
42 km or 26 mi Tacoma
$2517
46 km or 28 mi University Place
$2604
48 km or 30 mi Puyallup
$2644
50 km or 31 mi Lake Stevens
$2604
51 km or 32 mi Lakewood
$2449
52 km or 33 mi Marysville
$2598
57 km or 35 mi Spanaway
$2460
74 km or 46 mi Lacey
$2571
76 km or 47 mi Olympia
$2406
78 km or 48 mi Sequim
$2692
80 km or 50 mi Oak Harbor
$2751
90 km or 56 mi Mount Vernon
$2542
100 km or 62 mi Port Angeles
$2527
109 km or 68 mi Centralia
$2523
119 km or 74 mi Victoria
$2093