Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ottawa vs. La Crosse Cost of Living Summary
Ottawa is 10.1% more expensive than La Crosse.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.8% more in Ottawa
- Groceries
-
pay 35.6% more in Ottawa
- Transportation
-
pay 39.0% more in Ottawa
- Housing
-
pay 15.2% more in Ottawa
- Childcare
-
pay 18.6% less in Ottawa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.5% more in Ottawa
- Clothing
-
pay 18.5% less in Ottawa
The cost of transportation, groceries, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Ottawa are more expensive than in La Crosse. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Ottawa.
Ottawa vs. La Crosse Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ottawa instead of La Crosse, you would:
pay 10.8% more for restaurants
|
La Crosse
|
Ottawa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.80
|
$17.99
CA$24.81
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.50
|
$11.01
CA$15.18
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.92
|
$2.00
CA$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.52
|
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
|
La Crosse vs. Ottawa - Cost of restaurants
pay 35.6% more for groceries
|
La Crosse
|
Ottawa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.64
|
$2.73
CA$3.76
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.58
|
$5.85
CA$8.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.99
|
$8.65
CA$11.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.83
|
$3.52
CA$4.85
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.93
|
$5.74
CA$7.92
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.25
|
$1.91
CA$2.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.50
|
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.13
|
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.13
|
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.88
|
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
|
$1.46
CA$2.01
|
|
La Crosse vs. Ottawa - Cost of groceries
pay 39.0% more for transportation
|
La Crosse
|
Ottawa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.98
|
$4.05
CA$5.59
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.00
|
$97.12
CA$133.97
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$39,431.00
|
$24,444.83
CA$33,717.98
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.41
|
$14.82
CA$20.44
|
|
La Crosse vs. Ottawa - Cost of transportation
pay 15.2% more for housing
|
La Crosse
|
Ottawa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.67
|
$49.93
CA$68.87
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$775.00
|
$1,452.55
CA$2,003.58
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,000.00
|
$1,228.71
CA$1,694.82
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$157.02
|
$118.93
CA$164.04
|
|
La Crosse vs. Ottawa - Cost of housing
pay 18.6% less for childcare
|
La Crosse
|
Ottawa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$968.00
|
$788.18
CA$1,087.17
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$15,753.32
CA$21,729.34
|
|
La Crosse vs. Ottawa - Cost of childcare
pay 7.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
La Crosse
|
Ottawa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
|
$5.76
CA$7.94
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.46
|
$3.74
CA$5.16
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.26
|
$12.95
CA$17.86
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.00
|
$44.60
CA$61.52
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$10.79
CA$14.89
|
|
La Crosse vs. Ottawa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.5% less for clothing
|
La Crosse
|
Ottawa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$62.47
|
$52.82
CA$72.86
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.33
|
$38.91
CA$53.68
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.00
|
$87.10
CA$120.14
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$120.00
|
$92.91
CA$128.15
|
|
La Crosse vs. Ottawa - 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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