Cost of living comparison
compared to
Grand Forks vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Grand Forks is 18.9% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.4% less in Grand Forks
- Groceries
-
pay 10.8% less in Grand Forks
- Transportation
-
pay 30.3% less in Grand Forks
- Housing
-
pay 16.9% less in Grand Forks
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 26.2% less in Grand Forks
Expenses including transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Grand Forks.
Grand Forks vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Grand Forks instead of Washington, you would:
pay 10.4% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$21.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$9.45
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$3.00
|
|
Washington vs. Grand Forks - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.8% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.52
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$12.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$3.59
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.45
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.29
|
|
Washington vs. Grand Forks - Cost of groceries
pay 30.3% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.01
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$42.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
?? | |
Washington vs. Grand Forks - Cost of transportation
pay 16.9% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$76.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,000.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$800.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$213.15
|
|
Washington vs. Grand Forks - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Washington
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
?? |
Washington vs. Grand Forks - Cost of childcare
pay 26.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$60.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.00
|
|
Washington vs. Grand Forks - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Washington
|
Grand Forks
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
?? |
Washington vs. Grand Forks - 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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