Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Paterson Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 15.0% more expensive than Paterson.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.5% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 6.0% less in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 0.6% less in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 13.6% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.7% less in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 5.4% less in Washington
The cost of childcare, housing, and restaurants in Washington are more expensive than in Paterson. Expenses including entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and transportation are lower in Washington. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Paterson Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Paterson, you would:
pay 10.5% more for restaurants
|
Paterson
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.72
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$2.79
|
|
Paterson vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.0% less for groceries
|
Paterson
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.70
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.92
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.00
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.78
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.12
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.29
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$1.64
|
|
Paterson vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 0.6% less for transportation
|
Paterson
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.43
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,671.50
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.39
|
$16.73
|
|
Paterson vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 13.6% more for housing
|
Paterson
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.50
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,750.00
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,500.00
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$121.64
|
$146.54
|
|
Paterson vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Paterson
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,183.33
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,333.33
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Paterson vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 7.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Paterson
|
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
|
$15.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$16.75
|
|
Paterson vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.4% less for clothing
|
Paterson
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$71.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.94
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$108.89
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$168.76
|
$133.22
|
|
Paterson 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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