Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 12.5% cheaper than New York City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.0% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 11.7% less in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 16.6% less in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 13.4% less in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 22.9% less in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.1% less in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 5.5% less in Washington
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Washington.
Washington vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of New York City, you would:
pay 1.0% more for restaurants
|
New York City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.09
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$2.79
|
|
New York City vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.7% less for groceries
|
New York City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.75
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.89
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.05
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.20
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.07
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.29
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$1.64
|
|
New York City vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 16.6% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.47
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.39
|
$16.73
|
|
New York City vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 13.4% less for housing
|
New York City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.59
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,037.06
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,496.67
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.98
|
$146.54
|
|
New York City vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 22.9% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,154.10
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$57,250.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
New York City vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 18.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.71
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$150.04
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$16.75
|
|
New York City vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.5% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.80
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.94
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.58
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$168.76
|
$133.22
|
|
New York City 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: November 2025
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