Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Traverse City Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 69.2% more expensive than Traverse City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.4% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 34.7% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 83.2% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 27.6% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 3.1 times more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 84.4% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 16.4% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and housing in Washington are more expensive than in Traverse City. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Washington.
Washington vs. Traverse City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Traverse City, you would:
pay 29.4% more for restaurants
|
Traverse City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.25
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.14
|
$2.79
|
|
Traverse City vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.7% more for groceries
|
Traverse City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.94
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.64
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.83
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.61
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.07
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.74
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.72
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.08
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.21
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.45
|
$1.64
|
|
Traverse City vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 83.2% more for transportation
|
Traverse City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.27
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$16.73
|
|
Traverse City vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 27.6% more for housing
|
Traverse City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.50
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,983.33
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,418.00
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$112.10
|
$146.54
|
|
Traverse City vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 3.1 times more for childcare
|
Traverse City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,030.00
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,136.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Traverse City vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 84.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Traverse City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.75
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.00
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.33
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.50
|
$16.75
|
|
Traverse City vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.4% more for clothing
|
Traverse City
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$74.33
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.67
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$111.67
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$86.67
|
$133.22
|
|
Traverse City 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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