🇺🇸 North America

FIRE Number for Boston, United States

Name: Boston, United States
Address: Boston, United States

United States

World-Class Healthcare, History, and New England Charm

FIRE Score Based on safety, healthcare, infrastructure & expat friendliness

Boston is one of America's most expensive cities but rewards residents with exceptional healthcare access, walkable neighborhoods, rich history, and a vibrant intellectual culture anchored by Harvard and MIT. The city's compact size, excellent public transit, and four distinct seasons create a European feel rare in the US. FIRE retirees face high housing and healthcare costs, but those who value culture, education, and medical access will find Boston hard to beat.

Lean FIRE, FIRE, and Fat FIRE for Boston

Needed to retire here is the portfolio that, in a historical backtest, would have lasted your retirement at your chosen confidence and length. Status is the verdict for your portfolio. The 4% rule benchmark is shown underneath each figure for reference only.

Use my own healthcare cost

Lifestyle	Needed to retire here	Monthly Cost
Lean FIRE	$1.65M	$5,500/mo
FIRE	$2.7M	$9,000/mo
Fat FIRE	$7.29M	$24,300/mo

Cost data: Q1 2026 · High confidence

Cost of Living Breakdown for Boston

All cost and FIRE figures assume a single adult.

Lean FIRE Lifestyle

$1.65M

A tight budget in an expensive city. You will need a studio or small apartment in Dorchester or Quincy and rely on the T for transportation. Heating costs in winter are a real line item. The upside is that Boston is compact and walkable, the MBTA eliminates the need for a car, and Massachusetts has a strong ACA marketplace. Free walks along the Freedom Trail, the Public Garden, and the Charles River help keep entertainment costs low.

FIRE Lifestyle

$2.7M

A two-bedroom condo in Back Bay or a Beacon Hill brownstone apartment, in the heart of one of America's most walkable cities. You dine regularly at restaurants like Oleana and Neptune Oyster, hold Red Sox season tickets, and take weekend drives to Cape Cod or the Berkshires. At $10,000 a month, Boston feels genuinely comfortable. The proximity to Mass General and Brigham & Women's is a practical draw for anyone prioritizing healthcare access in retirement.

Fat FIRE Lifestyle

$7.29M

A historic Beacon Hill mansion or a waterfront estate in Marblehead. You have a full-time housekeeper, a personal assistant, and a cook who comes in several times a week. You dine wherever you want, travel first class, and hold a private box at Fenway Park. Summers include a Cape Cod or Nantucket house. You support the MFA and BSO as a major donor. Boston's concentration of world-class hospitals means healthcare access is arguably the best in the country.

Retirement Confidence

The 4% rule is a great starting point. Here we go a step further and test your plan against real market history.

Enter your portfolio on the homepage to backtest a retirement in Boston against market history.

How this is calculated

This is a real historical backtest. We run your plan through every retirement-length window in US market history (1871–2022): a 75% stock / 25% bond portfolio, rebalanced annually, with withdrawals raised each year for that period's actual inflation. The success rate is the share of those historical start years in which the money lasted the full length without running out.

Your confidence level sets the bar: at Balanced (90%), a survival rate of 90% or more reads "You can retire here", within 10 points below is "Close — worth a closer look", and lower is "Not quite yet". The same level sizes the "Needed to retire here" target. Retirement length also drives it — early retirees planning 40–50+ years see lower survival than the 30-year baseline.

Healthcare, Visa & City Overview

climate Mild

healthcare Excellent

english Widely spoken

safety Safe

visa Easy

Timezone

EST (UTC-5)

Currency

USD

Language

English

Avg. Temperature

51°F / 11°C

Internet

200+ Mbps average

Airport

Boston Logan International (BOS)

Frequently Asked Questions About Retiring in Boston

What is the FIRE Number for Boston, United States?

The FIRE Number for Boston ranges from $1.65M (Lean FIRE lifestyle) to $7.29M (Fat FIRE lifestyle). A FIRE retirement requires a portfolio of approximately $2.7M, based on estimated monthly costs of $9,000 and a 4% safe withdrawal rate.

How much does it cost to retire in Boston?

Monthly living costs in Boston range from $5,500 (Lean FIRE) to $9,000 (FIRE), covering housing, dining, groceries, healthcare, transportation, entertainment, and utilities.

What is healthcare like in Boston for retirees?

Healthcare in Boston costs approximately $850 to $900/month depending on coverage level. Massachusetts Health Connector Silver plan; MA has strong ACA marketplace.

What is the weather like in Boston?

Continental with cold, snowy winters and warm, humid summers The average temperature is 51°F / 11°C.

How safe is Boston for retirees?

Moderate – safe in most neighborhoods, typical urban caution advised