Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cape Town vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Cape Town is 52.4% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 60.1% less in Cape Town
- Groceries
-
pay 52.3% less in Cape Town
- Transportation
-
pay 26.8% less in Cape Town
- Housing
-
pay 54.0% less in Cape Town
- Childcare
-
pay 89.3% less in Cape Town
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 64.3% less in Cape Town
- Clothing
-
pay 19.7% less in Cape Town
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, groceries, and transportation are lower in Cape Town.
Cape Town vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cape Town instead of Washington, you would:
pay 60.1% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$11.47
ZAR194.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$5.16
ZAR87.38
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$1.20
ZAR20.35
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$0.92
ZAR15.53
|
|
Washington vs. Cape Town - Cost of restaurants
pay 52.3% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$1.14
ZAR19.21
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$4.37
ZAR73.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.50
ZAR76.09
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$2.49
ZAR42.19
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$2.43
ZAR41.18
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$0.78
ZAR13.27
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.76
ZAR12.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$0.74
ZAR12.54
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$0.78
ZAR13.19
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.60
ZAR10.08
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.62
ZAR10.51
|
|
Washington vs. Cape Town - Cost of groceries
pay 26.8% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.73
ZAR80.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$28.68
ZAR485.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$21,796.50
ZAR368,934.03
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$10.15
ZAR171.85
|
|
Washington vs. Cape Town - Cost of transportation
pay 54.0% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$42.97
ZAR727.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$838.02
ZAR14,184.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$559.94
ZAR9,477.63
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$91.96
ZAR1,556.46
|
|
Washington vs. Cape Town - Cost of housing
pay 89.3% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$228.00
ZAR3,859.24
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$5,090.62
ZAR86,165.43
|
|
Washington vs. Cape Town - Cost of childcare
pay 64.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$2.87
ZAR48.54
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$2.12
ZAR35.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$3.15
ZAR53.40
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$44.05
ZAR745.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$6.88
ZAR116.51
|
|
Washington vs. Cape Town - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.7% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$55.23
ZAR934.82
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$33.91
ZAR573.94
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$117.06
ZAR1,981.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$88.13
ZAR1,491.79
|
|
Washington vs. Cape Town - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. South Africa.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and South Africa.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Cape Town or Washington. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.