District of Columbia vs. Oakland Cost of Living Summary

District of Columbia is 3.4% more expensive than Oakland.

Restaurants
pay 1.9% less in District of Columbia
Groceries
pay 13.3% less in District of Columbia
Transportation
pay 3.0% less in District of Columbia
Housing
pay 5.9% more in District of Columbia
Childcare
pay 1.5% more in District of Columbia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 34.7% more in District of Columbia
Clothing
pay 0.2% less in District of Columbia

The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, and childcare in District of Columbia are more expensive than in Oakland. Expenses including groceries, transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in District of Columbia.

District of Columbia vs. Oakland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in District of Columbia instead of Oakland, you would:

pay 1.9% less for restaurants

 
Oakland
District of Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $30.00
 
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$15.00
 
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.93
 
$3.20
 

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pay 13.3% less for groceries

 
Oakland
District of Columbia
Bread
1 loaf
$5.27
 
$4.43
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $10.35
 
$8.04
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.46
 
$4.19
 

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pay 3.0% less for transportation

 
Oakland
District of Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.79
 
$3.53
 
Monthly public transit pass $85.00
 
$77.50
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $23,894.01
 
$35,699.74
 

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pay 5.9% more for housing

 
Oakland
District of Columbia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$63.33
 
$69.41
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,035.71
 
$2,568.48
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,883.33
 
$2,088.16
 

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pay 1.5% more for childcare

 
Oakland
District of Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,738.89
 
$2,650.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $37,770.00
 
$40,166.67
 

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pay 34.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Oakland
District of Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.33
 
$6.07
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.00
 
$13.00
 

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pay 0.2% less for clothing

 
Oakland
District of Columbia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$72.33
 
$76.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$56.00
 
$48.40
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$103.17
 
$104.31
 

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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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