Salary Equivalence

Boston

Boston, United States — cost-of-living and salary purchasing-power profile with a price-level index of 88.0 (New York City = 100).

Key figures

Price level index88.0
Rent index82.0
Population654,000

About Boston

Boston has a composite price-level index of 88.0 (New York City = 100) and a rent index of 82.0, making it one of the more expensive city. It is home to roughly 0.7 million people and uses the USD. The calculators below convert any salary to and from Boston so you can judge a move in real purchasing-power terms rather than raw currency.

The comparisons below show how Boston stacks up against the alternatives people most often weigh against it, with the specific numbers laid out side by side.

Frequently asked questions

How expensive is Boston?

Boston has a composite price-level index of 88.0 (NYC = 100) and a rent index of 82.0.

What currency is used in Boston?

Boston uses the USD.

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Dr. Elena Vasquez
Lead Economist, Cost-of-Living Research

Elena holds a PhD in Economics and has spent 12 years modelling purchasing-power parity and regional price indices.

PhD Economics, LSEFormer OECD statistics fellow
✓ Reviewed by Priya Nair, Data Quality Reviewer.
Last updated 2026-06-01

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