Cost of living comparison
compared to
District of Columbia vs. France Cost of Living Summary
District of Columbia is 73.2% more expensive than France overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 24.1% more in District of Columbia
- Groceries
-
pay 43.2% more in District of Columbia
- Transportation
-
pay 8.6% less in District of Columbia
- Housing
-
pay 2.3 times more in District of Columbia
- Childcare
-
pay 3.6 times more in District of Columbia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.3% more in District of Columbia
- Clothing
-
pay 0.4% more in District of Columbia
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and clothing in District of Columbia are more expensive than in France. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in District of Columbia.
District of Columbia vs. France Cost Breakdown
If you lived in District of Columbia instead of France, you would:
pay 24.1% more for restaurants
|
France
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.40
€14.82
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.58
€10.72
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.85
€2.43
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.92
€1.64
|
$2.79
|
|
France vs. District of Columbia - Cost of restaurants
pay 43.2% more for groceries
|
France
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.00
€1.70
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.90
€8.43
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.07
€4.32
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.06
€3.46
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.32
€5.38
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.38
€1.18
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.88
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
€1.13
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.53
€1.30
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.96
€0.82
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.09
€0.93
|
$1.64
|
|
France vs. District of Columbia - Cost of groceries
pay 8.6% less for transportation
|
France
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.83
€6.68
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$55.31
€47.12
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,101.00
€29,906.26
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.22
€18.08
|
$16.73
|
|
France vs. District of Columbia - Cost of transportation
pay 2.3 times more for housing
|
France
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$32.49
€27.68
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$812.51
€692.26
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$661.67
€563.75
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$156.40
€133.26
|
$146.54
|
|
France vs. District of Columbia - Cost of housing
pay 3.6 times more for childcare
|
France
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$772.72
€658.36
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,376.63
€8,840.95
|
$40,166.67
|
|
France vs. District of Columbia - Cost of childcare
pay 53.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
France
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
€5.97
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.57
€3.04
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.51
€11.51
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.74
€33.86
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.44
€11.45
|
$16.75
|
|
France vs. District of Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.4% more for clothing
|
France
|
District of Columbia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$95.54
€81.40
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.45
€35.32
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.85
€85.08
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$132.46
€112.86
|
$133.22
|
|
France vs. District of Columbia - 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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