Cost of living comparison
compared to
Arlington vs. Alexandria Cost of Living Summary
Arlington is 14.4% more expensive than Alexandria.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.7% more in Arlington
- Groceries
-
pay 0.8% more in Arlington
- Transportation
-
pay 11.3% more in Arlington
- Housing
-
pay 3.3% less in Arlington
- Childcare
-
pay 50.5% more in Arlington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.5% more in Arlington
- Clothing
-
pay 10.3% more in Arlington
The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, clothing, and groceries in Arlington are more expensive than in Alexandria.
Arlington vs. Alexandria Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Arlington instead of Alexandria, you would:
pay 17.7% more for restaurants
|
Alexandria
|
Arlington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.42
|
$2.97
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.21
|
$2.82
|
|
Alexandria vs. Arlington - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.8% more for groceries
|
Alexandria
|
Arlington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.78
|
$4.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.72
|
$10.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.88
|
$4.39
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.46
|
$4.34
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.49
|
$6.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.13
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.93
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.20
|
$2.11
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.45
|
$2.76
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$1.58
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.73
|
|
Alexandria vs. Arlington - Cost of groceries
pay 11.3% more for transportation
|
Alexandria
|
Arlington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.09
|
$3.17
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.00
|
$100.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,250.00
|
$34,521.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.38
|
$12.79
|
|
Alexandria vs. Arlington - Cost of transportation
pay 3.3% less for housing
|
Alexandria
|
Arlington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.00
|
$65.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,362.50
|
$2,433.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,912.50
|
$1,900.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$140.62
|
$121.02
|
|
Alexandria vs. Arlington - Cost of housing
pay 50.5% more for childcare
|
Alexandria
|
Arlington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,275.00
|
$1,923.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,000.00
|
$36,066.67
|
|
Alexandria vs. Arlington - Cost of childcare
pay 13.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Alexandria
|
Arlington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.04
|
$5.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.50
|
$64.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.50
|
|
Alexandria vs. Arlington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.3% more for clothing
|
Alexandria
|
Arlington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.50
|
$59.22
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.33
|
$49.90
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.50
|
$98.40
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$114.56
|
|
Alexandria vs. Arlington - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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