✦ Compare
Boston vs
Montreal
Cost-of-living comparison and salary equivalence. Enter your current salary to see what you'd need to earn to live equally well.
Boston, MA vs Montreal, CA at a glance — Montreal, CA is 11% cheaper than Boston, MA overall. Median 1-bed rent runs about $1,150/mo versus $3,000/mo. Top income tax: 33% vs 37%.
To keep the same standard of living in Montreal, CA, you'd need
$66,550 / year
Montreal, CA is 11% cheaper overall
Category breakdown (Montreal, CA vs Boston, MA)
- Housing-33%
- Food & groceries+18%
- Transport-12%
- Utilities+3%
- Healthcare-18%
- Goods & services+9%
◎ How Boston, MA and Montreal, CA compare
Index vs the US average — the line marks 100. Lower is cheaper.
▤ Full comparison
| Boston, MA | Montreal, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | ||
| Overall cost index | 111 | 99 |
| Housing | 152 | 102 |
| Food | 90 | 106 |
| Transport | 91 | 80 |
| Utilities | 95 | 98 |
| Healthcare | 98 | 80 |
| Goods & services | 96 | 105 |
| Housing | ||
| Rent, 1-bed centre | $3,000/mo | $1,150/mo |
| Rent, 1-bed outside | $2,300/mo | $900/mo |
| Rent, 3-bed centre | $5,500/mo | $2,200/mo |
| Buy price / m² centre | $11,000 | $5,500 |
| Money & purchasing power | ||
| $1,000 goes as far as | $897 | $1,011 |
| Inexpensive meal | $22 | $18 |
| Monthly transit pass | $90 | $70 |
| Taxes | ||
| Income tax (top rate) | 37% | 33% |
| VAT / sales tax | 0% | 5% |
| Social security (employee) | 7.7% | — |
| Corporate tax | 21% | 26.5% |
| Capital gains | 20% | — |
| Economy & salaries | ||
| Avg net salary | $4,300/mo | $3,300/mo |
| Avg annual wage (OECD, PPP) | $86,977✓ | $67,901✓ |
| Minimum wage | $1,257/mo✓ | $1,900/mo |
| GDP per capita | $90,027✓ | $55,698✓ |
| Inflation (annual) | — | 2.1%✓ |
| Work & digital nomad | ||
| Digital-nomad visa | No | Yes |
| English proficiency | Native | High |
| Coworking spaces | 80 | 50 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 | UTC-5 |
| Quality of life | ||
| Quality of life (overall) | 73 | 71 |
| Safety index | 62 | 72 |
| Healthcare index | 85 | 78 |
| Pollution index | 35 | 35 |
| Internet speed | 200 Mbps | 180 Mbps |
| Walkability | 83 | 78 |
| Public transport | 75 | 78 |
| Family-friendly | 65 | 74 |
| Tap water | Safe to drink | Safe to drink |
| Health insurance | $460/mo | — |
| Life expectancy | 79 yr✓ | 82 yr✓ |
| LGBTQ+ acceptance | High | High |
| Climate | ||
| January avg | -1 °C | -9 °C |
| July avg | +23 °C | +21 °C |
| Sunny days / year | 200 | 160 |
| Rainfall / year | 1,100 mm | 1,000 mm |
| Connectivity | ||
| Flight to nearest hub | 1 h | 2 h |
Taxes & Economy & salaries: United States vs Canada. Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.
✓ = official statistics (OECD (PPP), US DOL (federal), World Bank 2025, World Bank 2024). Unmarked figures are CostTrek estimates. How we calculate these figures →
Cost of living: Boston vs Montreal — in your currency
Converted from USD at approximate rates (2026-09).
Good to know before you move to Boston
Historic, walkable and a global university and biotech hub — winters are long and rents are steep.
- Currency
- US dollar ($ USD)
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- UTC-5
- Internet
- 200 Mbps
- English
- Native language
- Safety
- 62/100
- Climate
- ❄ -1°C · ☀ 23°C · 200 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Back Bay · Cambridge · South End
Good to know before you move to Montreal
A bilingual, European-flavoured metropolis and the most affordable of Canada's big cities — rents well below Toronto or Vancouver, a huge festival and food culture, and cheap universities. The catch is the long, brutally cold winter and Quebec's French-first bureaucracy.
- Currency
- Canadian dollar ($ CAD)
- Languages
- English, French
- Time zone
- UTC-5
- Internet
- 180 Mbps
- English
- Widely spoken
- Safety
- 72/100
- Climate
- ❄ -9°C · ☀ 21°C · 160 sunny days/yr
- Tap water
- Safe to drink
- Power
- A/B · 120V
- Driving
- Right-hand side
- Popular areas
- Plateau-Mont-Royal · Mile End · Griffintown · Rosemont
Plan your move to Boston
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalDiscoverCars
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
Plan your move to Montreal
Everything you will book for the move — sorted, and updated as we add partners.
- FlightsCheapvuelos
- FlightsAviasales
- HotelsPlanetofhotels
- Car rentalDiscoverCars
- Airport transferKiwitaxi
- Tours & ticketsKlook
- InsuranceSafetyWing
- eSIM / dataAiralo
- Luggage storageRadical Storage
- Parking & carWay.com
Sponsored
? Frequently asked questions
Moving from Boston to Montreal: cheaper or more expensive?
Moving from Boston to Montreal, your cost of living will be roughly 11% cheaper. Montreal’s cost-of-living index is 99 versus 111 for Boston (US = 100). Use the salary tool above to see the income you’d need to keep the same lifestyle.
Is Boston cheaper than Montreal?
Montreal is about 11% cheaper than Boston overall — its cost-of-living index is 99 versus 111 for Boston.
Which is more expensive, Boston or Montreal?
Boston is more expensive than Montreal. Its cost-of-living index is 111 vs 99 (US = 100) — about 12% higher.
Is rent cheaper in Boston or Montreal?
Rent is cheaper in Montreal — about $1,150/month for a one-bedroom in the city centre, vs $3,000 in Boston.
How much do you need to earn in Montreal to live like in Boston?
To keep the same standard of living, a $75,000 salary in Boston is worth about $66,550 in Montreal. Enter your own figure in the calculator above.
Which has lower taxes, Boston or Montreal?
Canada has the lower top income-tax rate — 33% versus 37% in United States.
◷ More comparisons from Boston
How we calculate these figures →
Estimates use approximate cost-of-living indices (US average = 100) and are for general guidance only.