Cost of living comparison

Netherlands

compared to

District of Columbia, USA

District of Columbia vs. Amsterdam Cost of Living Summary

District of Columbia is 6.4% more expensive than Amsterdam.

Restaurants: pay 1.0% less in District of Columbia
Groceries: pay 37.9% more in District of Columbia
Transportation: pay 32.1% less in District of Columbia
Housing: pay 3.9% more in District of Columbia
Childcare: pay 66.4% more in District of Columbia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.1% more in District of Columbia
Clothing: pay 4.9% less in District of Columbia

The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing in District of Columbia are more expensive than in Amsterdam. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and restaurants are lower in District of Columbia.

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District of Columbia vs. Amsterdam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in District of Columbia instead of Amsterdam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 1.0% less for restaurants

	Amsterdam	District of Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.39 €19.99	$28.00	+25.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.09 €13.47	$12.00	-20.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.82 €3.41	$3.17	-17.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.97 €2.65	$2.64	-11.3%
Average			-1.0%

Amsterdam vs. District of Columbia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.9% more for groceries

	Amsterdam	District of Columbia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.32 €2.07	$4.11	+77.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.37 €7.47	$8.53	+2.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.83 €5.20	$4.95	-15.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.17 €4.61	$5.64	+9.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.96 €5.32	$7.63	+28.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.25 €1.12	$3.17	+153.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.25 €1.12	$1.06	-15.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.21 €1.08	$2.27	+87.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.76 €1.57	$2.64	+49.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 €0.99	$1.29	+16.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.75 €0.67	$1.73	+129.2%
Average			+37.9%

Amsterdam vs. District of Columbia - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.1% less for transportation

	Amsterdam	District of Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.77 €8.72	$4.19	-57.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$114.21 €101.94	$120.00	+5.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,419.02 €36,968.05	$36,375.00	-12.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$31.74 €28.33	$16.73	-47.3%
Average			-32.1%

Amsterdam vs. District of Columbia - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.9% more for housing

	Amsterdam	District of Columbia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.22 €47.50	$77.77	+46.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,615.70 €2,334.61	$2,717.33	+3.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,951.54 €1,741.82	$2,228.89	+14.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$223.49 €199.47	$161.22	-27.9%
Average			+3.9%

Amsterdam vs. District of Columbia - Cost of housing

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pay 66.4% more for childcare

	Amsterdam	District of Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,791.00 €2,491.08	$3,221.33	+15.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,310.49 €15,450.27	$41,506.00	+139.8%
Average			+66.4%

Amsterdam vs. District of Columbia - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Amsterdam	District of Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.61 €6.80	$9.00	+18.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.55 €4.06	$6.15	+35.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.56 €12.99	$13.94	-4.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.26 €52.89	$114.30	+92.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.80 €14.99	$18.00	+7.2%
Average			+31.1%

Amsterdam vs. District of Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.9% less for clothing

	Amsterdam	District of Columbia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$93.98 €83.88	$71.42	-24.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.96 €36.56	$44.11	+7.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.66 €88.95	$104.50	+4.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$131.49 €117.36	$125.16	-4.8%
Average			-4.9%

Amsterdam vs. District of Columbia - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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