Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Sacramento Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 16.1% more expensive than Sacramento.
- Restaurants
-
pay 24.4% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 2.1% less in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 15.7% less in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 0.5% less in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 63.7% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 34.6% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 8.1% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in Washington are more expensive than in Sacramento. Expenses including transportation, groceries, and housing are lower in Washington.
Washington vs. Sacramento Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Sacramento, you would:
pay 24.4% more for restaurants
|
Sacramento
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.53
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$2.79
|
|
Sacramento vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.1% less for groceries
|
Sacramento
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.54
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.13
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.45
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.03
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.43
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.36
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.08
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.70
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.07
|
$1.64
|
|
Sacramento vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 15.7% less for transportation
|
Sacramento
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.75
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$100.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.91
|
$16.73
|
|
Sacramento vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 0.5% less for housing
|
Sacramento
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.65
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,061.79
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,652.79
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$270.98
|
$146.54
|
|
Sacramento vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 63.7% more for childcare
|
Sacramento
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,450.83
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,750.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Sacramento vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 34.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Sacramento
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.67
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.25
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.46
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.50
|
$16.75
|
|
Sacramento vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.1% more for clothing
|
Sacramento
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.75
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.83
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.07
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.00
|
$133.22
|
|
Sacramento 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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