Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Santa Cruz Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 2.0% more expensive than Santa Cruz.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.0% less in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 13.0% less in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 4.0% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 21.0% less in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 1.5% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 27.0% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 17.7% more in Washington
The cost of entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, and childcare in Washington are more expensive than in Santa Cruz. Expenses including housing, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Washington.
Washington vs. Santa Cruz Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Santa Cruz, you would:
pay 2.0% less for restaurants
|
Santa Cruz
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$2.79
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.0% less for groceries
|
Santa Cruz
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.27
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.35
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.50
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.75
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.53
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.80
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.55
|
$1.64
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 4.0% more for transportation
|
Santa Cruz
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.79
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,894.01
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.70
|
$16.73
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 21.0% less for housing
|
Santa Cruz
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$76.17
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,989.17
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,639.80
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$244.30
|
$146.54
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 1.5% more for childcare
|
Santa Cruz
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,738.89
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,770.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 27.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Cruz
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.00
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.50
|
$16.75
|
|
Santa Cruz vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.7% more for clothing
|
Santa Cruz
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.00
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.00
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.00
|
$133.22
|
|
Santa Cruz 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: February 2026
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