Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ireland vs. District of Columbia Cost of Living Summary
Ireland is 14.8% cheaper than District of Columbia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.9% less in Ireland
- Groceries
-
pay 28.4% less in Ireland
- Transportation
-
pay 56.2% more in Ireland
- Housing
-
pay 20.3% less in Ireland
- Childcare
-
pay 70.5% less in Ireland
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.6% less in Ireland
- Clothing
-
pay 8.1% less in Ireland
Expenses including childcare, groceries, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Ireland.
Ireland vs. District of Columbia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ireland instead of District of Columbia, you would:
pay 20.9% less for restaurants
|
District of Columbia
|
Ireland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$19.70
€16.79
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.31
€9.64
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.39
€2.04
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.91
€1.62
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Ireland - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.4% less for groceries
|
District of Columbia
|
Ireland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$2.04
€1.74
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$5.16
€4.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$5.89
€5.02
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.07
€3.46
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.10
€4.34
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.37
€1.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.97
€0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.39
€1.19
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.79
€1.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.86
€0.74
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.68
€0.58
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Ireland - Cost of groceries
pay 56.2% more for transportation
|
District of Columbia
|
Ireland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$7.75
€6.60
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$121.81
€103.78
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$41,319.33
€35,204.32
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$22.20
€18.91
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Ireland - Cost of transportation
pay 20.3% less for housing
|
District of Columbia
|
Ireland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$51.47
€43.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,543.12
€1,314.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,305.59
€1,112.37
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$178.90
€152.42
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Ireland - Cost of housing
pay 70.5% less for childcare
|
District of Columbia
|
Ireland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,108.91
€944.80
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$6,959.78
€5,929.77
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Ireland - Cost of childcare
pay 11.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
District of Columbia
|
Ireland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.63
€5.65
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.32
€3.68
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$19.16
€16.32
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$63.57
€54.16
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$13.32
€11.35
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Ireland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.1% less for clothing
|
District of Columbia
|
Ireland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$89.93
€76.62
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$41.06
€34.99
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$96.01
€81.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$96.40
€82.14
|
|
District of Columbia vs. Ireland - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. Ireland.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Ireland.
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 Ireland or District of Columbia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.