Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Santa Maria Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 29.2% more expensive than Santa Maria.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.0% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 26.9% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 7.2% less in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 6.6% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 49.6% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 76.0% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 39.8% more in Washington
The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, clothing, groceries, restaurants, and housing in Washington are more expensive than in Santa Maria. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Santa Maria Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Santa Maria, you would:
pay 13.0% more for restaurants
|
Santa Maria
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$2.79
|
|
Santa Maria vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.9% more for groceries
|
Santa Maria
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.47
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.22
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.50
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.20
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.70
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.79
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.05
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.64
|
|
Santa Maria vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 7.2% less for transportation
|
Santa Maria
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.62
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$16.73
|
|
Santa Maria vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 6.6% more for housing
|
Santa Maria
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.01
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,241.33
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,050.00
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.18
|
$146.54
|
|
Santa Maria vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 49.6% more for childcare
|
Santa Maria
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,000.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Santa Maria vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 76.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Maria
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.83
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.00
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$16.75
|
|
Santa Maria vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 39.8% more for clothing
|
Santa Maria
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.99
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$72.50
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$79.50
|
$133.22
|
|
Santa Maria 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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