Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. State College Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 48.1% more expensive than State College.
- Restaurants
-
pay 37.9% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 40.3% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 8.5% less in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 44.5% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 97.0% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 88.5% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 37.0% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, restaurants, and clothing in Washington are more expensive than in State College. Notably, childcare and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. State College Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of State College, you would:
pay 37.9% more for restaurants
|
State College
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.69
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.79
|
|
State College vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 40.3% more for groceries
|
State College
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.46
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.83
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.44
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.98
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.80
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.32
|
$1.64
|
|
State College vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 8.5% less for transportation
|
State College
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.38
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$85.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$23.20
|
$16.73
|
|
State College vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 44.5% more for housing
|
State College
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.00
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,500.00
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,167.50
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$121.12
|
$146.54
|
|
State College vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 97.0% more for childcare
|
State College
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,046.00
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,560.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
State College vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 88.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
State College
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.50
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$25.00
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$16.75
|
|
State College vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 37.0% more for clothing
|
State College
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$42.13
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.00
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.00
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$114.75
|
$133.22
|
|
State College 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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