Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Helsinki Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 74.7% more expensive than Helsinki.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.5% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 58.3% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 20.9% less in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 2.1 times more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 4.5 times more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.7% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 6.7% less in Washington
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Washington are more expensive than in Helsinki. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Washington. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Helsinki Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Helsinki, you would:
pay 8.5% more for restaurants
|
Helsinki
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.52
€15.11
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.85
€11.08
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.33
€2.87
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.74
€2.36
|
$2.79
|
|
Helsinki vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 58.3% more for groceries
|
Helsinki
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.59
€2.23
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.00
€4.31
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.19
€4.48
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.67
€3.16
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.74
€5.82
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.28
€1.10
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
€0.86
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.24
€1.07
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.06
€1.78
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.56
€0.49
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.79
€0.68
|
$1.64
|
|
Helsinki vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 20.9% less for transportation
|
Helsinki
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.91
€6.82
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$84.09
€72.51
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,056.70
€31,954.99
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.03
€17.27
|
$16.73
|
|
Helsinki vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
Helsinki
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$25.95
€22.38
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,216.29
€1,048.84
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$911.76
€786.24
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$107.39
€92.61
|
$146.54
|
|
Helsinki vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 4.5 times more for childcare
|
Helsinki
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$437.97
€377.68
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,422.45
€11,574.54
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Helsinki vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 20.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Helsinki
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.47
€7.30
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
€4.48
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.96
€11.18
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.02
€43.13
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$19.85
€17.12
|
$16.75
|
|
Helsinki vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.7% less for clothing
|
Helsinki
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$107.25
€92.49
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.83
€37.80
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$109.22
€94.19
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.09
€119.07
|
$133.22
|
|
Helsinki 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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