Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. District of Columbia Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 15.4% cheaper than District of Columbia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.0% less in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 35.8% less in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 41.4% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 19.8% less in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 47.0% less in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.6% less in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 7.0% less in United Kingdom
Expenses including childcare, groceries, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in United Kingdom.
United Kingdom vs. District of Columbia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of District of Columbia, you would:
pay 26.0% less for restaurants
|
District of Columbia
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.41
£15.26
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$9.94
£7.43
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.32
£1.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.65
£1.23
|
|
District of Columbia vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 35.8% less for groceries
|
District of Columbia
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$1.59
£1.19
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$4.71
£3.52
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$6.20
£4.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.32
£0.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.73
£0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.28
£0.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.49
£1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.72
£0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.71
£0.53
|
|
District of Columbia vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 41.4% more for transportation
|
District of Columbia
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$7.22
£5.40
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$99.05
£74.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,224.29
£27,089.65
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$22.08
£16.51
|
|
District of Columbia vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 19.8% less for housing
|
District of Columbia
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$41.90
£31.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,285.79
£961.56
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,062.09
£794.26
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$233.57
£174.67
|
|
District of Columbia vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 47.0% less for childcare
|
District of Columbia
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,530.71
£1,144.72
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$19,375.12
£14,489.32
|
|
District of Columbia vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 13.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
District of Columbia
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.35
£4.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.54
£3.39
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$19.18
£14.34
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$49.26
£36.84
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$13.88
£10.38
|
|
District of Columbia vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.0% less for clothing
|
District of Columbia
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$86.00
£64.31
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$44.20
£33.05
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$95.21
£71.20
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$101.36
£75.80
|
|
District of Columbia vs. United Kingdom - 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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