Cost of living comparison
compared to
Great Falls vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Great Falls is 29.3% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.4% less in Great Falls
- Groceries
-
pay 26.3% less in Great Falls
- Transportation
-
pay 27.6% less in Great Falls
- Housing
-
pay 26.4% less in Great Falls
- Childcare
-
pay 45.0% less in Great Falls
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 31.3% less in Great Falls
- Clothing
-
pay 25.8% less in Great Falls
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Great Falls.
Great Falls vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Great Falls instead of Washington, you would:
pay 22.4% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Great Falls
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$11.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.00
|
|
Washington vs. Great Falls - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.3% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Great Falls
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.37
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.99
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.13
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$3.19
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$6.29
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.02
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.68
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.50
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.83
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.73
|
|
Washington vs. Great Falls - Cost of groceries
pay 27.6% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Great Falls
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.06
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$30,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$13.44
|
|
Washington vs. Great Falls - Cost of transportation
pay 26.4% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Great Falls
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$75.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,466.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,066.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$113.28
|
|
Washington vs. Great Falls - Cost of housing
pay 45.0% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Great Falls
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$800.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$32,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. Great Falls - Cost of childcare
pay 31.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Great Falls
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.17
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$7.99
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$62.66
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$11.99
|
|
Washington vs. Great Falls - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 25.8% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Great Falls
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$66.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$32.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$70.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$100.00
|
|
Washington vs. Great Falls - 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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