Boston vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston Seattle
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3638
$3154
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$8082
$7508
🏠 One person rent
$2543
$1981
🏘️ Family rent
$4126
$3422
🍽️ Food expenses
$722
$796
🚐 Transport expenses
$145
$169
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6556
$6532
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
9 km
🎓 Higher education
100
80
😀 Quality of life
92
95
🏙️ Population
676K
737K

The cost of living in Boston is 15% more expensive than in Seattle. Cities ranked 30th and 142nd ($3638 vs $3154) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 101st in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Boston compared to 2.1 months in Seattle. Ranked 16th vs 5th best cities to live in the United States, and 94th vs 32nd 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 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
$21.5
$22.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$103
$96.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.9
$14.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.04
$7.73
 Cappuccino
$5.31
$6.45
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.85
$2.97
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2878
$2110
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2181
$1647
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5280
$3872
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3456
$2891
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$147
$169
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$229
$262
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$76.1
$72.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.34%
6.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11142
$7394
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6207
$5077
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.41
$3.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.6
$111
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.8
$16.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.87
$1.21
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.19
$1.44
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.63
$4.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.64
$4.23
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.6
$6.95
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.1
$20.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.7
$16.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.4
$21.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.14
$5.6
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.15
$2.27
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.48
$5.07
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.77
$6.09
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.11
$3.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.73
$3.45
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.6
$1.74
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.78
$3.47
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.2
$17.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.07
$3.65
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13.1
$12.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.48
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.06
$8.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4
$6.86
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.99
$2.42
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$89.2
$83.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.9
$17.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$190
$147
💇 Haircut, simple
$28.2
$24.7
👖 Brand Jeans
$67.6
$69.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$115
$122
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2835
$2521
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$26679
$28950

Cost of living in other countries

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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
$3830
4.4 km or 2.7 mi Chelsea
$3097
4.5 km or 2.8 mi Somerville
$3650
5.6 km or 3.5 mi Everett
$2960
5.7 km or 3.5 mi Brookline
$3140
6.9 km or 4.3 mi Revere
$2981
7.4 km or 4.6 mi Malden
$3000
7.6 km or 4.7 mi Medford
$2691
10 km or 6.2 mi Belmont
$3017
10 km or 6.2 mi Arlington
$2944
10 km or 6.2 mi Watertown
$2966
11 km or 6.9 mi Melrose
$2870
12 km or 7.5 mi Milton
$3006
12 km or 7.5 mi Winchester
$2845
12 km or 7.7 mi Newton
$2862
13 km or 7.8 mi Saugus
$2839
13 km or 8.1 mi Quincy
$3186
14 km or 8.6 mi Stoneham
$2823
14 km or 8.9 mi Waltham
$2870
15 km or 9.4 mi Lynn
$2762
15 km or 9.5 mi Woburn
$2714
16 km or 9.6 mi Dedham
$2921
16 km or 10 mi Needham
$2837
16 km or 10 mi Lexington
$2771
16 km or 10 mi Wakefield
$2808
18 km or 11 mi Braintree
$2980
18 km or 11 mi Weymouth
$2986
19 km or 12 mi Reading
$2786
19 km or 12 mi Hingham
$2939
20 km or 12 mi Burlington
$2405
20 km or 13 mi Wellesley
$2803
21 km or 13 mi Norwood
$2866
22 km or 14 mi Peabody
$2859
22 km or 14 mi Randolph
$2894
22 km or 14 mi Salem
$3006
23 km or 14 mi Wilmington
$2629
23 km or 14 mi Marblehead
$2854
23 km or 14 mi Canton
$2871
25 km or 16 mi Natick
$2867
26 km or 16 mi Stoughton
$2852

Cities near Seattle

Distance City Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi Mercer Island
$2896
11 km or 6.5 mi Bellevue
$3292
14 km or 8.5 mi Kirkland
$3041
15 km or 9.2 mi Tukwila
$2681
15 km or 9.5 mi Burien
$2717
16 km or 10 mi Bainbridge Island
$2855
17 km or 10 mi Shoreline
$2778
17 km or 10 mi Renton
$2604
17 km or 11 mi Redmond
$3559
17 km or 11 mi Kenmore
$2702
19 km or 12 mi SeaTac
$2807
21 km or 13 mi Bothell
$2737
22 km or 14 mi Sammamish
$2915
22 km or 14 mi Edmonds
$2739
23 km or 14 mi Issaquah
$2798
24 km or 15 mi Des Moines
$2677
24 km or 15 mi Lynnwood
$2734
24 km or 15 mi Bremerton
$2475
26 km or 16 mi Kent
$2814
30 km or 19 mi Mill Creek
$2717
33 km or 20 mi Federal Way
$2587
34 km or 21 mi Maple Valley
$2656
35 km or 21 mi Mukilteo
$2674
35 km or 22 mi Auburn
$2325
41 km or 25 mi Everett
$2641
42 km or 26 mi Tacoma
$2519
46 km or 28 mi University Place
$2720
48 km or 30 mi Puyallup
$2828
50 km or 31 mi Lake Stevens
$2641
51 km or 32 mi Lakewood
$2582
52 km or 33 mi Marysville
$2628
57 km or 35 mi Spanaway
$2362
74 km or 46 mi Lacey
$2584
76 km or 47 mi Olympia
$2558
78 km or 48 mi Sequim
$2710
80 km or 50 mi Oak Harbor
$2754
90 km or 56 mi Mount Vernon
$2456
100 km or 62 mi Port Angeles
$2539
109 km or 68 mi Centralia
$2747
119 km or 74 mi Victoria
$2173