Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Columbia Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 51.8% more expensive than Columbia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 45.9% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 27.9% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 44.2% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 57.5% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 80.7% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 74.6% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 31.8% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, transportation, and clothing in Washington are more expensive than in Columbia. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Columbia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Columbia, you would:
pay 45.9% more for restaurants
|
Columbia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.50
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.30
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.79
|
$2.79
|
|
Columbia vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.9% more for groceries
|
Columbia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.65
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.78
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.40
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.87
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.34
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.81
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.34
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.46
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.11
|
$1.64
|
|
Columbia vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 44.2% more for transportation
|
Columbia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.87
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$40.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$16.73
|
|
Columbia vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 57.5% more for housing
|
Columbia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$59.17
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,300.00
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$912.50
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$169.59
|
$146.54
|
|
Columbia vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 80.7% more for childcare
|
Columbia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,450.00
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,500.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Columbia vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 74.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Columbia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.50
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.62
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.00
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.75
|
|
Columbia vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.8% more for clothing
|
Columbia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.33
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.00
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$79.20
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$113.75
|
$133.22
|
|
Columbia vs. Washington - 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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