Cost of living comparison
compared to
Gaithersburg vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Gaithersburg is 12.6% more expensive than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.9% less in Gaithersburg
- Groceries
-
pay 40.6% more in Gaithersburg
- Transportation
-
pay 32.9% less in Gaithersburg
- Housing
-
pay 21.3% more in Gaithersburg
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Gaithersburg
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 39.4% more in Gaithersburg
- Clothing
-
pay 14.3% less in Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Gaithersburg instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 11.9% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Gaithersburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.92
€16.07
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.20
€10.05
|
$7.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
€2.96
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.30
€2.06
|
$2.46
|
|
Madrid vs. Gaithersburg - Cost of restaurants
pay 40.6% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Gaithersburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.57
€1.41
|
$4.45
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.35
€7.49
|
$8.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
€4.71
|
$4.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.15
€3.72
|
$5.16
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.23
€3.79
|
$7.14
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.17
€1.05
|
$2.20
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.96
€0.86
|
$0.77
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.15
€1.03
|
$2.11
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
€1.04
|
$2.41
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.00
€0.89
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.87
|
$0.93
|
|
Madrid vs. Gaithersburg - Cost of groceries
pay 32.9% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Gaithersburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.88
€6.17
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$36.95
€33.15
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,271.67
€31,643.98
|
$27,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.84
€14.21
|
$13.94
|
|
Madrid vs. Gaithersburg - Cost of transportation
pay 21.3% more for housing
|
Madrid
|
Gaithersburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.86
€31.28
|
$62.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,491.38
€1,337.99
|
$1,800.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,193.86
€1,071.07
|
$1,575.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$144.11
€129.28
|
$124.91
|
|
Madrid vs. Gaithersburg - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Gaithersburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$668.48
€599.73
|
$1,597.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,859.91
€16,023.02
|
$36,066.67
|
|
Madrid vs. Gaithersburg - Cost of childcare
pay 39.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Gaithersburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.92
€3.52
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.07
€2.76
|
$5.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.72
€6.03
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.67
€45.46
|
$31.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.20
€10.05
|
$17.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Gaithersburg - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.3% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Gaithersburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.50
€77.60
|
$55.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.98
€38.56
|
$36.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$108.99
€97.78
|
$102.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.77
€101.17
|
$120.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Gaithersburg - Cost of clothing
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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