Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Philadelphia Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 14.4% more expensive than Philadelphia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.2% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 6.2% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 1.0% less in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 16.8% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 12.6% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.7% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 14.3% more in Washington
The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, clothing, childcare, and groceries in Washington are more expensive than in Philadelphia.
Washington vs. Philadelphia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Philadelphia, you would:
pay 16.2% more for restaurants
|
Philadelphia
|
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) |
$2.79
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.10
|
$2.79
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.2% more for groceries
|
Philadelphia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.25
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.30
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.27
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.54
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.89
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.73
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.85
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.05
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.65
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.49
|
$1.64
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 1.0% less for transportation
|
Philadelphia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.24
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$96.50
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,373.32
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.43
|
$16.73
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 16.8% more for housing
|
Philadelphia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$76.39
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,831.00
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,313.60
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$189.95
|
$146.54
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 12.6% more for childcare
|
Philadelphia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,026.67
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,560.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 35.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Philadelphia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.06
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.38
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$16.75
|
|
Philadelphia vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.3% more for clothing
|
Philadelphia
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.86
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.31
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.67
|
$133.22
|
|
Philadelphia 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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