Boston

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Quality of life in Boston

One of the oldest and most historic cities in the US, Boston is a center of higher education with some of the top universities in the world. It has also developed a vibrant technology scene and is home to numerous venture capital firms, all supporting high rates of innovation and entrepreneurship. Add its tolerant environment, great quality of healthcare and beautiful New England nature, and you've got an enticing city that attracts talent from around the world.

Boston is one of the top ten city matches for 12.8% of Teleport users.

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Life quality score

City ranking

Housing

1
260/265
Details
Large apartment$2900.00
Medium apartment$2500.00
Rent index [score]0.10
Small apartment$2100.00

Cost of Living

4
222/248
Details
5km taxi ride$8.40
A Cappuccino$4.40
A beer$2.80
A kilogram of Apples$4.40
Bread$1.30
Inflation [score]0.43
Lunch$14.00
Monthly fitness club membership$74.00
Monthly public transport$79.00
Movie ticket$14.00
Price of a meal at a restaurant$81.39

Startups

10
9/264
Details
Average monthly increase in number of startups55
Average monthly increase in number of startups [score]0.92
Coworking spaces [score]0.81
Coworking spaces on WorkFrom.co126
Meetups [score]0.98
Meetups groups199
Meetups members278749
Number of investors2053
Number of startup events in the last 12 months3957
Number of upcoming meetup events200
Startup climate scene [score]0.93
Startup events726
Startup events [score]0.97
Startups [score]0.99
Total number of startups3245

Venture Capital

10
1/192
Details
Funding accelerator namesTechstars Boston, LearnLaunchX, Healthbox - Boston
Number of funding accelerators4
Venture capital [score]1.00

Travel Connectivity

3
125/266
Details
Airport hub103
Airport hub [score]0.48
Intercity train connectivity [score]0.16

Commute

4
200/255
Details
Human city pagehttp://cities.human.co/details/United_States/Boston
Traffic handling [score]0.44

Business Freedom

9
69/264
Details
Business freedom84.70
Business freedom [score]0.86
Freedom from corruption74.00
Freedom from corruption [score]0.79
Lack of labor restrictions91.40
Lack of labor restrictions [score]1.00
Time to open a business5.60
Time to open a business [score]0.95

Safety

8
95/266
Details
Crime rate [score]0.74
Gun-related deaths per 100,000 residents per year3
Guns per 100 residents35
Lack of gun related deaths [score]0.91
Lack of guns [score]0.81
Lack of guns and gun-related deaths [score]0.86

Healthcare

9
35/265
Details
Healthcare expenditure [score]0.99
Healthcare quality [score]0.94
Life expectancy (years)79.28
Life expectancy [score]0.76

Education

9
3/240
Details
Best university in rankingMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Best university ranking5
Country mean scores in PISA math test478.04
Country mean scores in PISA reading test497.58
Country mean scores in PISA science test497.41
PISA math ranking (high school)30
PISA ranking24
PISA ranking (high school) [score]0.72
PISA reading (high school)16
PISA science (high school)19
Percent of happy students0.77
Percent of low performers in PISA math test0.26
Percent of low performers in PISA reading test0.17
Percent of low performers in PISA science test0.18
Percent of top performers in PISA math test0.09
Percent of top performers in PISA reading test0.08
Percent of top performers in PISA science test0.07
University quality [score]1.00

Environmental Quality

8
52/266
Details
Air quality [score]0.88
Cleanliness [score]0.81
Drinking water quality [score]0.76
Urban greenery [score]0.81

Economy

7
16/263
Details
Currency exchange rate per US dollar for urban area1.00
Currency for urban areaUSD
GDP growth rate0.02
GDP growth rate [score]0.43
GDP per capita$54596.65
GDP per capita [score]0.87

Taxation

4
179/266
Details
Effective company profit tax rate on payouts as dividends [score]0.54
Income tax level [score]0.27
Profit tax (% of profit)0.44
Time overhead to file company taxes175
VAT (Sales Tax)0.06

Internet Access

6
110/266
Details
Download speed (Mbps)57.73
Internet access (download) [score]0.67
Internet access (upload) [score]0.47
Upload speed (Mbps)10.82

Leisure & Culture

9
21/264
Details
Art galleries327
Art galleries [score]0.79
Cinemas198
Cinemas [score]0.77
Comedy clubs132
Comedy clubs [score]0.94
Concert venues280
Concerts [score]0.92
Historical sites246
Historical sites [score]0.87
Museums178
Museums [score]0.84
Performing art venues342
Performing arts [score]0.92
Sport venues179
Sports [score]0.97
Zoos74
Zoos [score]0.84

Tolerance

8
43/266
Details
LGBT Equality Index96.88
LGBT Equality Index [score]1.00
LGBT adoption rights✔ Legal
LGBT age of consent✔ Equal
LGBT blood donation regulations✖ Banned (indefinite deferral)
LGBT conversion therapy regulationsAmbiguous
LGBT discrimination legality✔ Illegal
LGBT employment discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT gender changing rights✔ Legal, surgery not required
LGBT homosexuality rights✔ Legal
LGBT housing discrimination legality✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
LGBT marriage rights✔ Legal
Tolerance towards minorities [score]0.70

Outdoors

6
56/266
Details
Elevation (hills or mountains) [score]0.15
Median peak in meters202.00
Seaside access1.00
Urban area elevation (meters)12.00
Water access [score]0.99
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Cost of living

Costs of living in Boston are in the most expensive 20 percent of all 248 Teleport cities and the 14th most expensive in the United States. Average living expenses are significantly higher compared to other cities, especially in the housing market. Moving to Boston will very likely increase your daily costs of living. Sign up for free to get access to our cost of living index and use our international  cost of living calculator to do cost comparison by city.

Housing costs (USD)

$2,400$3,400
$2900
Median rent for
apartments in city center

Daily living costs (USD)

Monthly fitness club membership$74