Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 6.4% cheaper than Chicago.
Washington vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 0.2% less for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.25
|
$22.26
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.24
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.66
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.30
|
$2.18
|
|
Chicago vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.3% less for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.92
|
$4.04
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.07
|
$7.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.97
|
$4.15
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.78
|
$4.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.65
|
$6.11
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.39
|
$2.34
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.87
|
$1.87
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.03
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.24
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.23
|
$1.24
|
|
Chicago vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 0.8% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.66
|
$4.99
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$70.32
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,531.00
|
$34,567.40
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.45
|
$17.13
|
|
Chicago vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 11.0% less for housing
|
Chicago
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$61.13
|
$77.56
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,400.00
|
$1,772.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,679.31
|
$1,547.68
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$147.87
|
$175.22
|
|
Chicago vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 5.0% more for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,536.88
|
$1,891.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$31,537.78
|
$28,281.22
|
|
Chicago vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 9.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$6.38
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.70
|
$5.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$16.00
|
$11.44
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$53.47
|
$55.23
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$15.12
|
|
Chicago vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.6% less for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$66.94
|
$54.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.67
|
$40.93
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.58
|
$89.87
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$143.78
|
$109.43
|
|
Chicago vs. Washington - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: Chicago vs. Washington
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Washington or Chicago. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.