Cost of living comparison
compared to
Des Plaines vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Des Plaines is 16.5% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 23.8% less in Des Plaines
- Groceries
-
pay 19.0% less in Des Plaines
- Transportation
-
pay 12.1% less in Des Plaines
- Housing
-
pay 13.9% less in Des Plaines
- Childcare
-
pay 38.6% less in Des Plaines
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.3% less in Des Plaines
- Clothing
-
pay 6.8% less in Des Plaines
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, housing, transportation, and clothing are lower in Des Plaines.
Des Plaines vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Des Plaines instead of Washington, you would:
pay 23.8% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Des Plaines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$15.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.25
|
|
Washington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.0% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Des Plaines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.90
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.49
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.13
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.56
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.02
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.77
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.26
|
|
Washington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of groceries
pay 12.1% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Des Plaines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.46
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$29,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$15.68
|
|
Washington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of transportation
pay 13.9% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Des Plaines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$72.85
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,700.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,600.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$141.41
|
|
Washington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of housing
pay 38.6% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Des Plaines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,628.82
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$24,601.00
|
|
Washington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of childcare
pay 1.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Des Plaines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$124.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.00
|
|
Washington vs. Des Plaines - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.8% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Des Plaines
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$48.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$124.00
|
|
Washington vs. Des Plaines - 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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