Puyallup vs. Hillsboro Cost of Living Summary

Puyallup is 37.0% more expensive than Hillsboro.

Restaurants
pay 38.0% more in Puyallup
Groceries
pay 43.8% more in Puyallup
Transportation
pay 48.2% more in Puyallup
Housing
pay 16.2% more in Puyallup
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in Puyallup
Entertainment and Sports
pay 36.3% more in Puyallup
Clothing
pay 49.0% more in Puyallup

The cost of childcare, clothing, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Puyallup are more expensive than in Hillsboro. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Puyallup.

Puyallup vs. Hillsboro Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Puyallup instead of Hillsboro, you would:

pay 38.0% more for restaurants

 
Hillsboro
Puyallup
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $22.50
 
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.00
 
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.75
 
$3.19
 

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pay 43.8% more for groceries

 
Hillsboro
Puyallup
Bread
1 loaf
$3.67
 
$4.57
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.02
 
$9.09
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.92
 
$4.23
 

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pay 48.2% more for transportation

 
Hillsboro
Puyallup
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.43
 
$5.17
 
Monthly public transit pass $100.00
 
$171.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $18,500.00
 
$36,318.00
 

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pay 16.2% more for housing

 
Hillsboro
Puyallup
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.33
 
$87.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,900.00
 
$1,866.67
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,625.00
 
$1,766.67
 

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Hillsboro
Puyallup
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,222.22
 
$3,012.40
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,250.00
 
$31,129.44
 

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pay 36.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Hillsboro
Puyallup
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.00
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.69
 
$6.66
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$10.00
 
$12.06
 

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pay 49.0% more for clothing

 
Hillsboro
Puyallup
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$37.50
 
$61.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.33
 
$44.50
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$93.33
 
$127.75
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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