Boston vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Boston Washington
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3680
$3350
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$8143
$7781
🏠 One person rent
$2555
$2159
🏘️ Family rent
$4103
$3818
🍽️ Food expenses
$749
$775
🚐 Transport expenses
$146
$171
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6248
$7152
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
5 km
5 km
🎓 Higher education
100
100
😀 Quality of life
91
94
🏙️ Population
676K
690K

The cost of living in Boston is 10% more expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 27th and 74th ($3680 vs $3350) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 21st and 56th 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 Washington. Ranked 20th vs 6th best cities to live in the United States, and 105th vs 31st 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 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
$24.8
$22.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$102
$101
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12
$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.02
$8.68
 Cappuccino
$5.38
$6.1
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.8
$3.39
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2870
$2374
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2200
$1850
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5120
$4205
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3473
$3379
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$144
$136
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$224
$206
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$77.3
$68.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.34%
6.12%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$12808
$8429
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6220
$3565
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.39
$3.03
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$90.7
$115
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$17.9
$18.6
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.93
$0.99
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.14
$1.17
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.58
$3.61
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.32
$6.22
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.77
$5.43
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.7
$18.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$15.9
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.8
$19.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.92
$5.8
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.89
$2.3
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.58
$5.02
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.74
$5.56
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.32
$2.74
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.19
$3.62
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.84
$1.66
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.94
$3.62
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16.6
$17.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.98
$4.52
🚬 Cigarette pack
$13
$13.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.53
$9.34
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$6.96
$4.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4
$4.31
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.99
$2.57
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$89.6
$113
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$15.9
$16.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$192
$196
💇 Haircut, simple
$27.8
$35.5
👖 Brand Jeans
$73.4
$70
👟 Brand Sneakers
$116
$116
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2859
$1892
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$26444
$24903

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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
$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 Washington

Distance City Cost of living
2.5 km or 1.5 mi Georgetown
$3031
9.5 km or 5.9 mi Bailey's Crossroads
$2572
10 km or 6.3 mi Alexandria
$2913
11 km or 6.8 mi Bethesda
$2769
12 km or 7.5 mi Silver Spring
$2223
15 km or 9.2 mi College Park
$3016
17 km or 11 mi Springfield
$2367
17 km or 11 mi Greenbelt
$2774
23 km or 14 mi Rockville
$2678
24 km or 15 mi Fairfax
$2803
26 km or 16 mi Bowie
$2596
27 km or 17 mi Laurel
$2377
28 km or 17 mi Reston
$2801
30 km or 19 mi Waldorf
$2508
31 km or 19 mi Gaithersburg
$2512
32 km or 20 mi Herndon
$2799
34 km or 21 mi Woodbridge
$2696
34 km or 21 mi Marumsco
$2608
36 km or 22 mi Centreville
$3338
37 km or 23 mi Germantown
$2695
38 km or 23 mi Columbia
$2856
41 km or 26 mi Manassas
$2379
42 km or 26 mi Ashburn
$2793
47 km or 29 mi Annapolis
$2862
49 km or 31 mi Catonsville
$2484
51 km or 32 mi Leesburg
$2341
57 km or 35 mi Eldersburg
$2554
57 km or 35 mi Baltimore
$2224
61 km or 38 mi Owings Mills
$2603
68 km or 42 mi Frederick
$2318
76 km or 47 mi Fredericksburg
$2363
83 km or 52 mi Charles Town
$1977
87 km or 54 mi Edgewood
$3012
92 km or 57 mi Bel Air South
$2787
93 km or 58 mi Bel Air North
$2694
102 km or 63 mi Hanover
$2275
102 km or 63 mi Hagerstown
$2037
103 km or 64 mi Winchester
$2252
106 km or 66 mi Waynesboro
$2109
122 km or 76 mi York
$2088