Cost of living comparison

compared to

District of Columbia vs. South Dakota Cost of Living Summary

District of Columbia is 89.0% more expensive than South Dakota.

Restaurants: pay 47.7% more in District of Columbia
Groceries: pay 24.3% more in District of Columbia
Transportation: pay 46.7% more in District of Columbia
Housing: pay 75.0% more in District of Columbia
Childcare: pay 4.4 times more in District of Columbia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 62.5% more in District of Columbia
Clothing: pay 24.1% more in District of Columbia

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, transportation, and groceries in District of Columbia are more expensive than in South Dakota. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in District of Columbia.

District of Columbia vs. South Dakota Cost Breakdown

If you lived in District of Columbia instead of South Dakota, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.7% more for restaurants

	South Dakota	District of Columbia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.33	$25.00	+102.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.19	$12.00	+17.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.03	$3.20	+5.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.69	$2.79	+64.8%
Average			+47.7%

South Dakota vs. District of Columbia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.3% more for groceries

	South Dakota	District of Columbia
Bread 1 loaf	$3.01	$4.43	+47.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.97	$8.04	+34.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.68	$4.19	+13.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.88	$4.55	-6.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.68	$7.74	+65.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.07	$2.95	+42.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.89	$0.92	+3.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.78	$2.20	+23.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.21	$3.00	+35.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.41	$1.35	-4.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46	$1.64	+12.3%
Average			+24.3%

South Dakota vs. District of Columbia - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.7% more for transportation

	South Dakota	District of Columbia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.00	$3.53	+17.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.00	$77.50	+158.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,568.55	$35,699.74	+0.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.14	$16.73	+10.4%
Average			+46.7%

South Dakota vs. District of Columbia - Cost of transportation

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pay 75.0% more for housing

	South Dakota	District of Columbia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.40	$69.41	+40.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,053.00	$2,568.48	+143.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$974.82	$2,088.16	+114.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$144.28	$146.54	+1.6%
Average			+75.0%

South Dakota vs. District of Columbia - Cost of housing

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pay 4.4 times more for childcare

	South Dakota	District of Columbia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$715.00	$2,650.00	+270.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,800.00	$40,166.67	+415.0%
Average			+342.8%

South Dakota vs. District of Columbia - Cost of childcare

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pay 62.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Dakota	District of Columbia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.42	$8.00	+81.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.69	$6.07	+29.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.38	$13.00	+38.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.44	$103.76	+118.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.56	$16.75	+44.9%
Average			+62.5%

South Dakota vs. District of Columbia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.1% more for clothing

	South Dakota	District of Columbia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.89	$76.00	+58.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.78	$48.40	+13.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.39	$104.31	+16.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$123.62	$133.22	+7.8%
Average			+24.1%

South Dakota vs. District of Columbia - 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: March 2026

Compare further: South Dakota vs. District of Columbia

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Make 3.4 times more money in District of Columbia

Size Comparison · See true size

South Dakota is about 1,110 times bigger than District of Columbia.

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