Cost of living comparison

compared to

Washington vs. Locarno Cost of Living Summary

Washington is 19.6% more expensive than Locarno.

Restaurants: pay 30.8% less in Washington
Groceries: pay 49.9% more in Washington
Transportation: pay 33.0% less in Washington
Housing: pay 64.1% more in Washington
Childcare: pay 89.8% more in Washington
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.4% more in Washington
Clothing: pay 12.0% less in Washington

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Washington are more expensive than in Locarno. Expenses including transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Washington. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Washington.

Washington vs. Locarno Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Washington instead of Locarno, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 30.8% less for restaurants

	Locarno	Washington
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$28.15 CHF22.60	$25.00	-11.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$19.39 CHF15.57	$12.00	-38.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.01 CHF4.02	$3.20	-36.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.48 CHF3.60	$2.79	-37.8%
Average			-30.8%

Locarno vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.9% more for groceries

	Locarno	Washington
Bread 1 loaf	$3.55 CHF2.85	$4.43	+25.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$16.48 CHF13.23	$8.04	-51.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.89 CHF6.34	$4.19	-46.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.26 CHF4.22	$4.55	-13.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.81 CHF5.47	$7.74	+13.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.25 CHF1.00	$2.95	+136.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 CHF0.68	$0.92	+8.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 CHF0.68	$2.20	+158.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.42 CHF1.14	$3.00	+111.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.62 CHF0.50	$1.35	+115.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.85 CHF0.68	$1.64	+92.1%
Average			+49.9%

Locarno vs. Washington - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.0% less for transportation

	Locarno	Washington
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.34 CHF6.69	$3.53	-57.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$100.10 CHF80.36	$77.50	-22.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$39,728.02 CHF31,892.74	$35,699.74	-10.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.78 CHF23.10	$16.73	-41.9%
Average			-33.0%

Locarno vs. Washington - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.1% more for housing

	Locarno	Washington
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$47.97 CHF38.51	$69.41	+44.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,063.58 CHF853.82	$2,568.48	+141.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,063.58 CHF853.82	$2,088.16	+96.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$198.24 CHF159.14	$146.54	-26.1%
Average			+64.1%

Locarno vs. Washington - Cost of housing

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pay 89.8% more for childcare

	Locarno	Washington
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,501.53 CHF1,205.40	$2,650.00	+76.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,770.17 CHF15,871.03	$40,166.67	+103.2%
Average			+89.8%

Locarno vs. Washington - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Locarno	Washington
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.76 CHF7.03	$8.00	-8.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.92 CHF3.95	$6.07	+23.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.26 CHF9.04	$13.00	+15.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.08 CHF60.27	$103.76	+38.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$21.27 CHF17.08	$16.75	-21.3%
Average			+9.4%

Locarno vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.0% less for clothing

	Locarno	Washington
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$116.79 CHF93.75	$76.00	-34.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.44 CHF47.71	$48.40	-18.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.44 CHF87.06	$104.31	-3.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$122.00 CHF97.94	$133.22	+9.2%
Average			-12.0%

Locarno vs. Washington - Cost of clothing

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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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