Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cedar Rapids vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Cedar Rapids is 26.2% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 32.5% less in Cedar Rapids
- Groceries
-
pay 26.1% less in Cedar Rapids
- Transportation
-
pay 15.5% less in Cedar Rapids
- Housing
-
pay 27.4% less in Cedar Rapids
- Childcare
-
pay 62.1% less in Cedar Rapids
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.9% less in Cedar Rapids
- Clothing
-
pay 2.0% more in Cedar Rapids
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cedar Rapids instead of Washington, you would:
pay 32.5% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$1.92
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.52
|
|
Washington vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.1% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$2.64
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$7.12
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.07
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$2.83
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.93
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.25
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.41
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.04
|
|
Washington vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of groceries
pay 15.5% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$2.98
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$37,383.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$18.41
|
|
Washington vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of transportation
pay 27.4% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$71.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,140.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$750.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$157.02
|
|
Washington vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of housing
pay 62.1% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$968.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$15,795.00
|
|
Washington vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of childcare
pay 21.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$4.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.46
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.26
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$100.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$12.75
|
|
Washington vs. Cedar Rapids - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.0% more for clothing
|
Washington
|
Cedar Rapids
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$62.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$63.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$128.26
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$95.67
|
|
Washington vs. Cedar Rapids - 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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