Cost of living comparison

Netherlands

compared to

United States

Bethesda vs. Rotterdam Cost of Living Summary

Bethesda is 24.0% more expensive than Rotterdam.

Restaurants: pay 31.6% less in Bethesda
Groceries: pay 10.1% more in Bethesda
Transportation: pay 33.1% less in Bethesda
Housing: pay 0.2% less in Bethesda
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Bethesda
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.1% more in Bethesda
Clothing: pay 15.5% less in Bethesda

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Bethesda are more expensive than in Rotterdam. Expenses including transportation, restaurants, clothing, and housing are lower in Bethesda. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Bethesda.

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Bethesda vs. Rotterdam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bethesda instead of Rotterdam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 31.6% less for restaurants

	Rotterdam	Bethesda
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$23.36 €20.42	$16.50	-29.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.02 €12.25	$8.00	-42.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.77 €3.30	$2.50	-33.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.02 €2.64	$2.40	-20.4%
Average			-31.6%

Rotterdam vs. Bethesda - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.1% more for groceries

	Rotterdam	Bethesda
Bread 1 loaf	$2.42 €2.12	$3.97	+63.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.09 €6.20	$4.38	-38.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.08 €4.44	$3.58	-29.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.29 €4.62	$4.33	-18.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.52 €5.70	$4.87	-25.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.21 €1.06	$2.08	+71.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 €1.01	$0.63	-45.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 €0.85	$1.86	+92.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.88 €1.64	$1.90	+1.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 €0.83	$0.99	+3.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.91 €0.79	$1.22	+34.7%
Average			+10.1%

Rotterdam vs. Bethesda - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.1% less for transportation

	Rotterdam	Bethesda
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.68 €7.59	$3.16	-63.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$77.09 €67.40	$100.00	+29.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$39,711.65 €34,722.08	$23,000.00	-42.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$33.35 €29.16	$14.58	-56.3%
Average			-33.1%

Rotterdam vs. Bethesda - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.2% less for housing

	Rotterdam	Bethesda
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$56.68 €49.56	$62.50	+10.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,764.83 €1,543.09	$2,250.00	+27.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,483.58 €1,297.18	$1,866.67	+25.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$221.76 €193.90	$79.25	-64.3%
Average			-0.2%

Rotterdam vs. Bethesda - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Rotterdam	Bethesda
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,105.72 €1,841.15	$3,175.00	+50.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,039.24 €12,275.28	$65,000.00	+363.0%
Average			+206.9%

Rotterdam vs. Bethesda - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Rotterdam	Bethesda
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.18 €7.15	$5.00	-38.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.58 €4.00	$5.60	+22.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.02 €12.25	$14.00	-0.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.17 €43.87	$141.00	+181.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.52 €15.32	$16.00	-8.7%
Average			+31.1%

Rotterdam vs. Bethesda - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.5% less for clothing

	Rotterdam	Bethesda
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$101.88 €89.08	$70.00	-31.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.37 €44.04	$56.67	+12.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$131.62 €115.09	$115.00	-12.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$187.61 €164.04	$130.00	-30.7%
Average			-15.5%

Rotterdam vs. Bethesda - Cost of clothing

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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: July 2026

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