Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cambridge vs. Bethesda Cost of Living Summary
Cambridge is 11.4% more expensive than Bethesda.
Cambridge vs. Bethesda Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cambridge instead of Bethesda, you would:
pay 26.1% more for restaurants
|
Bethesda
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.50
|
$17.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.85
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.40
|
|
Bethesda vs. Cambridge - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.5% more for groceries
|
Bethesda
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.97
|
$4.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.38
|
$7.58
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.58
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.33
|
$4.88
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.87
|
$6.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.08
|
$2.70
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.86
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.90
|
$2.90
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.15
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.50
|
|
Bethesda vs. Cambridge - Cost of groceries
pay 12.9% more for transportation
|
Bethesda
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.16
|
$3.18
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$100.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,000.00
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.58
|
$16.52
|
|
Bethesda vs. Cambridge - Cost of transportation
pay 45.0% more for housing
|
Bethesda
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.50
|
$67.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,250.00
|
$2,837.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,866.67
|
$2,866.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$79.25
|
$152.48
|
|
Bethesda vs. Cambridge - Cost of housing
pay 34.9% less for childcare
|
Bethesda
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,175.00
|
$2,793.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$65,000.00
|
$27,500.00
|
|
Bethesda vs. Cambridge - Cost of childcare
pay 2.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Bethesda
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.60
|
$5.45
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$12.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$141.00
|
$100.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$15.00
|
|
Bethesda vs. Cambridge - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.7% less for clothing
|
Bethesda
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$69.87
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.67
|
$43.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.00
|
$101.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.00
|
$140.00
|
|
Bethesda vs. Cambridge - 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: July 2026
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