Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Costa Mesa Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 30.9% more expensive than Costa Mesa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 15.9% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 17.5% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 3.4% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 11.1% less in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 39.5% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 31.4% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Washington are more expensive than in Costa Mesa. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Costa Mesa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Costa Mesa, you would:
pay 15.9% more for restaurants
|
Costa Mesa
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.33
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
|
$2.79
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 17.5% more for groceries
|
Costa Mesa
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.76
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.32
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.28
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.99
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.74
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.56
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.32
|
$1.64
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 3.4% more for transportation
|
Costa Mesa
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.74
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,999.00
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$16.73
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 11.1% less for housing
|
Costa Mesa
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.33
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,798.67
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,466.67
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$216.33
|
$146.54
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Costa Mesa
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,206.00
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$40,166.67
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 39.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Costa Mesa
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.00
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.50
|
$16.75
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.4% more for clothing
|
Costa Mesa
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.27
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.67
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.25
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.25
|
$133.22
|
|
Costa Mesa 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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