Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. San Luis Obispo Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 33.1% more expensive than San Luis Obispo.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.5% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 56.0% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 4.8% less in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 0.8% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 43.5% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 3.4% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and housing in Washington are more expensive than in San Luis Obispo. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. San Luis Obispo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of San Luis Obispo, you would:
pay 14.5% more for restaurants
|
San Luis Obispo
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$24.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.22
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.76
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.58
|
$2.79
|
|
San Luis Obispo vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 56.0% more for groceries
|
San Luis Obispo
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.45
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.67
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.17
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.83
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.75
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.56
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.14
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.89
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.09
|
$1.64
|
|
San Luis Obispo vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 4.8% less for transportation
|
San Luis Obispo
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.64
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$60.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,323.95
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$28.87
|
$16.73
|
|
San Luis Obispo vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 0.8% more for housing
|
San Luis Obispo
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.60
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,280.00
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,880.00
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$195.00
|
$146.54
|
|
San Luis Obispo vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
San Luis Obispo
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,300.00
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,489.48
|
$40,166.67
|
|
San Luis Obispo vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 43.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Luis Obispo
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.77
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.96
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.00
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$16.75
|
|
San Luis Obispo vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.4% more for clothing
|
San Luis Obispo
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$50.00
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$120.00
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$110.00
|
$133.22
|
|
San Luis Obispo 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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