Cost of living comparison
compared to
East Lansing vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
East Lansing is 33.0% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.8% less in East Lansing
- Groceries
-
pay 25.0% less in East Lansing
- Transportation
-
pay 20.1% less in East Lansing
- Housing
-
pay 33.5% less in East Lansing
- Childcare
-
pay 54.7% less in East Lansing
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 31.6% less in East Lansing
- Clothing
-
pay 36.5% less in East Lansing
Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries are lower in East Lansing.
East Lansing vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in East Lansing instead of Washington, you would:
pay 29.8% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$13.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.57
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.82
|
|
Washington vs. East Lansing - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.0% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.31
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.57
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$2.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.25
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.13
|
|
Washington vs. East Lansing - Cost of groceries
pay 20.1% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$50.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$13.68
|
|
Washington vs. East Lansing - Cost of transportation
pay 33.5% less for housing
|
Washington
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$52.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,233.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,066.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$134.29
|
|
Washington vs. East Lansing - Cost of housing
pay 54.7% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,294.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$16,800.00
|
|
Washington vs. East Lansing - Cost of childcare
pay 31.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$36.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$12.50
|
|
Washington vs. East Lansing - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 36.5% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
East Lansing
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$45.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$31.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$70.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$85.00
|
|
Washington vs. East Lansing - 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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