Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bethesda vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Bethesda is 4.9% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 25.8% less in Bethesda
- Groceries
-
pay 25.2% less in Bethesda
- Transportation
-
pay 7.5% less in Bethesda
- Housing
-
pay 19.7% less in Bethesda
- Childcare
-
pay 40.8% more in Bethesda
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.2% less in Bethesda
- Clothing
-
pay 4.2% more in Bethesda
The cost of childcare and clothing in Bethesda are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Bethesda.
Bethesda vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bethesda instead of Washington, you would:
pay 25.8% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$16.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.40
|
|
Washington vs. Bethesda - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.2% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.97
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$4.38
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.58
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.87
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.86
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.90
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.22
|
|
Washington vs. Bethesda - Cost of groceries
pay 7.5% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.16
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$100.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$23,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$14.58
|
|
Washington vs. Bethesda - Cost of transportation
pay 19.7% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$62.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,250.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,866.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$79.25
|
|
Washington vs. Bethesda - Cost of housing
pay 40.8% more for childcare
|
Washington
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$3,175.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$65,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. Bethesda - Cost of childcare
pay 1.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.60
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$141.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$16.00
|
|
Washington vs. Bethesda - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.2% more for clothing
|
Washington
|
Bethesda
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$56.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$115.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$130.00
|
|
Washington vs. Bethesda - 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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