Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cambridge vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Cambridge is 3.7% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.0% less in Cambridge
- Groceries
-
pay 26.1% less in Cambridge
- Transportation
-
pay 45.4% more in Cambridge
- Housing
-
pay 6.9% less in Cambridge
- Childcare
-
pay 25.2% less in Cambridge
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.8% less in Cambridge
- Clothing
-
pay 3.0% more in Cambridge
The cost of transportation and clothing in Cambridge are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including groceries, childcare, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Cambridge.
Cambridge vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cambridge instead of Washington, you would:
pay 13.0% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$26.71
£20.02
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.68
£8.01
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.67
£2.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.91
£1.43
|
|
Washington vs. Cambridge - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.1% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$1.92
£1.44
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.16
£4.62
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$6.47
£4.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.38
£3.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.45
£3.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.39
£1.04
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.79
£0.59
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.62
£1.21
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.51
£1.14
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.91
£0.68
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.99
£0.74
|
|
Washington vs. Cambridge - Cost of groceries
pay 45.4% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$7.23
£5.42
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$80.13
£60.06
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$37,772.71
£28,315.37
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$28.04
£21.02
|
|
Washington vs. Cambridge - Cost of transportation
pay 6.9% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$41.26
£30.93
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,874.74
£1,405.35
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,585.83
£1,188.78
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$240.38
£180.19
|
|
Washington vs. Cambridge - Cost of housing
pay 25.2% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$2,228.30
£1,670.39
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$26,263.51
£19,687.78
|
|
Washington vs. Cambridge - Cost of childcare
pay 2.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.01
£6.01
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.76
£3.57
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$20.03
£15.02
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$59.43
£44.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$16.03
£12.01
|
|
Washington vs. Cambridge - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.0% more for clothing
|
Washington
|
Cambridge
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$95.71
£71.74
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$51.19
£38.37
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$91.57
£68.65
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$123.53
£92.60
|
|
Washington vs. Cambridge - 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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