Cost of living comparison
compared to
Charleston vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Charleston is 8.6% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.7% less in Charleston
- Groceries
-
pay 16.8% more in Charleston
- Transportation
-
pay 16.3% less in Charleston
- Housing
-
pay 7.1% more in Charleston
- Childcare
-
pay 33.6% less in Charleston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 23.6% less in Charleston
- Clothing
-
pay 1.6% less in Charleston
The cost of groceries and housing in Charleston are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Charleston.
Charleston vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Charleston instead of Washington, you would:
pay 8.7% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.40
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.46
|
|
Washington vs. Charleston - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.8% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$4.44
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$9.38
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.94
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.73
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$6.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$4.25
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.12
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.15
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$2.95
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$2.20
|
|
Washington vs. Charleston - Cost of groceries
pay 16.3% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$2.99
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$57.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$15.53
|
|
Washington vs. Charleston - Cost of transportation
pay 7.1% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$78.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,675.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,800.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$182.70
|
|
Washington vs. Charleston - Cost of housing
pay 33.6% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,467.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$31,080.00
|
|
Washington vs. Charleston - Cost of childcare
pay 23.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.92
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$48.57
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.50
|
|
Washington vs. Charleston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.6% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Charleston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$75.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$49.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$95.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$134.00
|
|
Washington vs. Charleston - 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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