Boston vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison
Updated:
| Boston | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| 🚶 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% more expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 32nd and 93rd ($3467 vs $3139) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 28th and 74th in the United States.
The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Boston compared to 1.9 months in Washington. Ranked 15th vs 6th best cities to live in the United States, and 89th vs 41st among the best cities to live in the world.
Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power
Share this infographic!
Prices in Boston vs Washington
Prices for goods and services in Boston and Washington are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.
| Boston | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
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 | |
| 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 Washington
| Distance | City | Cost of living |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5 km or 1.5 mi | Georgetown | |
| 9.5 km or 5.9 mi | Bailey's Crossroads | |
| 10 km or 6.3 mi | Alexandria | |
| 11 km or 6.8 mi | Bethesda | |
| 12 km or 7.5 mi | Silver Spring | |
| 15 km or 9.2 mi | College Park | |
| 17 km or 11 mi | Springfield | |
| 17 km or 11 mi | Greenbelt | |
| 23 km or 14 mi | Rockville | |
| 24 km or 15 mi | Fairfax | |
| 26 km or 16 mi | Bowie | |
| 27 km or 17 mi | Laurel | |
| 28 km or 17 mi | Reston | |
| 30 km or 19 mi | Waldorf | |
| 31 km or 19 mi | Gaithersburg | |
| 32 km or 20 mi | Herndon | |
| 34 km or 21 mi | Woodbridge | |
| 34 km or 21 mi | Marumsco | |
| 36 km or 22 mi | Centreville | |
| 37 km or 23 mi | Germantown | |
| 38 km or 23 mi | Columbia | |
| 41 km or 26 mi | Manassas | |
| 42 km or 26 mi | Ashburn | |
| 47 km or 29 mi | Annapolis | |
| 49 km or 31 mi | Catonsville | |
| 51 km or 32 mi | Leesburg | |
| 57 km or 35 mi | Eldersburg | |
| 57 km or 35 mi | Baltimore | |
| 61 km or 38 mi | Owings Mills | |
| 68 km or 42 mi | Frederick | |
| 76 km or 47 mi | Fredericksburg | |
| 83 km or 52 mi | Charles Town | |
| 87 km or 54 mi | Edgewood | |
| 92 km or 57 mi | Bel Air South | |
| 93 km or 58 mi | Bel Air North | |
| 102 km or 63 mi | Hanover | |
| 102 km or 63 mi | Hagerstown | |
| 103 km or 64 mi | Winchester | |
| 106 km or 66 mi | Waynesboro | |
| 122 km or 76 mi | York |