Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bern vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Bern is 41.0% more expensive than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 52.8% more in Bern
- Groceries
-
pay 20.5% more in Bern
- Transportation
-
pay 2.2 times more in Bern
- Housing
-
pay 1.5% more in Bern
- Childcare
-
pay 15.5% more in Bern
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.6% more in Bern
- Clothing
-
pay 67.8% more in Bern
The cost of transportation, clothing, restaurants, groceries, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Bern are more expensive than in Washington. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Bern.
Bern vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bern instead of Washington, you would:
pay 52.8% more for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$29.22
CHF23.46
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$18.77
CHF15.07
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$5.16
CHF4.14
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$4.93
CHF3.96
|
|
Washington vs. Bern - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.5% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.73
CHF2.99
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$14.58
CHF11.70
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$8.60
CHF6.90
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$7.49
CHF6.01
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$15.45
CHF12.40
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.72
CHF1.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.03
CHF0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.44
CHF1.15
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.39
CHF2.72
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.04
CHF0.84
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.05
CHF0.84
|
|
Washington vs. Bern - Cost of groceries
pay 2.2 times more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$8.42
CHF6.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$100.10
CHF80.36
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$41,041.86
CHF32,947.46
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$65.19
CHF52.33
|
|
Washington vs. Bern - Cost of transportation
pay 1.5% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$63.82
CHF51.23
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,948.71
CHF1,564.38
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,636.67
CHF1,313.88
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$234.53
CHF188.28
|
|
Washington vs. Bern - Cost of housing
pay 15.5% more for childcare
|
Washington
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$3,420.16
CHF2,745.62
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$40,875.03
CHF32,813.53
|
|
Washington vs. Bern - Cost of childcare
pay 10.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$9.38
CHF7.53
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$6.19
CHF4.97
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.76
CHF9.44
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$81.65
CHF65.54
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$27.53
CHF22.10
|
|
Washington vs. Bern - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 67.8% more for clothing
|
Washington
|
Bern
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$155.91
CHF125.16
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$70.91
CHF56.92
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$167.05
CHF134.10
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$212.36
CHF170.48
|
|
Washington vs. Bern - 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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