Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. McAllen Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 74.1% more expensive than McAllen.
- Restaurants
-
pay 32.8% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 53.4% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 39.3% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 2.1 times more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 2.9 times more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 64.0% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 27.2% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, and restaurants in Washington are more expensive than in McAllen. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. McAllen Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of McAllen, you would:
pay 32.8% more for restaurants
|
McAllen
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.50
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.55
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.85
|
$2.79
|
|
McAllen vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 53.4% more for groceries
|
McAllen
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.06
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.80
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.23
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.35
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.64
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.55
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.64
|
|
McAllen vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 39.3% more for transportation
|
McAllen
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.76
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,489.50
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.17
|
$16.73
|
|
McAllen vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
McAllen
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.00
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$812.50
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$690.00
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$128.31
|
$146.54
|
|
McAllen vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 2.9 times more for childcare
|
McAllen
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$900.00
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$40,166.67
|
|
McAllen vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 64.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
McAllen
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.44
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.00
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$16.75
|
|
McAllen vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.2% more for clothing
|
McAllen
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.50
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$75.00
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$95.00
|
$133.22
|
|
McAllen 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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