Cost of living comparison
Bellingham vs. Athens Cost of Living Summary
Bellingham is 60.6% more expensive than Athens.
- Restaurants
-
pay 46.9% more in Bellingham
- Groceries
-
pay 85.9% more in Bellingham
- Transportation
-
pay 6.9% less in Bellingham
- Housing
-
pay 2.1 times more in Bellingham
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Bellingham
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 45.7% more in Bellingham
- Clothing
-
pay 6.1% less in Bellingham
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Bellingham are more expensive than in Athens. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Bellingham. Notably, childcare, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Bellingham.
Bellingham vs. Athens Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bellingham instead of Athens, you would:
pay 46.9% more for restaurants
|
Athens
|
Bellingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.80
€15.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.20
€10.00
|
$13.21
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.82
€2.52
|
$3.19
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.56
€0.50
|
$2.17
|
|
pay 85.9% more for groceries
|
Athens
|
Bellingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.43
€1.27
|
$4.82
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.56
€6.75
|
$9.46
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.14
€6.37
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.99
€4.45
|
$5.04
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.76
€4.25
|
$8.43
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.99
€0.89
|
$1.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
€0.79
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.64
€0.57
|
$2.36
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.87
|
$2.90
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.48
€0.43
|
$1.60
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.52
€0.46
|
$1.47
|
|
pay 6.9% less for transportation
|
Athens
|
Bellingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.72
€7.78
|
$5.31
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.23
€26.99
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,970.99
€24,975.22
|
$36,318.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.54
€11.20
|
$16.12
|
|
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
Athens
|
Bellingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.36
€27.11
|
$76.95
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$742.36
€662.85
|
$1,772.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$655.59
€585.37
|
$1,507.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$160.58
€143.38
|
$167.87
|
|
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Athens
|
Bellingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$573.57
€512.14
|
$1,136.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,885.92
€11,505.80
|
$31,129.44
|
|
pay 45.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Athens
|
Bellingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.60
€5.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.11
€3.67
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.60
€5.00
|
$12.56
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.57
€48.72
|
$68.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.64
€9.50
|
$17.00
|
|
pay 6.1% less for clothing
|
Athens
|
Bellingham
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$91.55
€81.75
|
$77.77
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.01
€35.72
|
$28.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.08
€92.94
|
$110.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.50
€110.27
|
$150.00
|
|
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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