Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. East Lansing Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 59.5% more expensive than East Lansing.
- Restaurants
-
pay 47.5% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 38.5% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 28.1% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 61.6% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 61.1% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 57.7% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, restaurants, and groceries in Washington are more expensive than in East Lansing. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. East Lansing Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of East Lansing, you would:
pay 47.5% more for restaurants
|
East Lansing
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.57
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.82
|
$2.79
|
|
East Lansing vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 38.5% more for groceries
|
East Lansing
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.31
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.06
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.57
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.50
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.25
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.08
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.55
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.65
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.25
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.13
|
$1.64
|
|
East Lansing vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 28.1% more for transportation
|
East Lansing
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.30
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.68
|
$16.73
|
|
East Lansing vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 61.6% more for housing
|
East Lansing
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.14
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,233.33
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,066.67
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.29
|
$146.54
|
|
East Lansing vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
East Lansing
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,294.79
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,800.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
East Lansing vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 61.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
East Lansing
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.86
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$36.67
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$16.75
|
|
East Lansing vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 57.7% more for clothing
|
East Lansing
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$45.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$31.00
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$70.00
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$85.00
|
$133.22
|
|
East Lansing 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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