Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ann Arbor vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Ann Arbor is 25.5% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 27.1% less in Ann Arbor
- Groceries
-
pay 24.4% less in Ann Arbor
- Transportation
-
pay 16.2% less in Ann Arbor
- Housing
-
pay 21.8% less in Ann Arbor
- Childcare
-
pay 38.6% less in Ann Arbor
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 27.2% less in Ann Arbor
- Clothing
-
pay 23.2% less in Ann Arbor
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and housing are lower in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ann Arbor instead of Washington, you would:
pay 27.1% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$16.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.00
|
|
Washington vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.4% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.30
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.04
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$3.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.35
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.76
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.58
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.32
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.97
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.37
|
|
Washington vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of groceries
pay 16.2% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.37
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$45.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$15.43
|
|
Washington vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of transportation
pay 21.8% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$70.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,829.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,344.44
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$110.66
|
|
Washington vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of housing
pay 38.6% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,933.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$20,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of childcare
pay 27.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.84
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$56.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$12.00
|
|
Washington vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.2% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$51.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$37.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$91.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$101.00
|
|
Washington vs. Ann Arbor - 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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