Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lake Forest vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Lake Forest is 15.1% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.4% less in Lake Forest
- Groceries
-
pay 6.8% less in Lake Forest
- Transportation
-
pay 10.2% more in Lake Forest
- Housing
-
pay 14.8% less in Lake Forest
- Childcare
-
pay 52.2% less in Lake Forest
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.5% less in Lake Forest
- Clothing
-
pay 15.4% less in Lake Forest
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, housing, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Lake Forest.
Lake Forest vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lake Forest instead of Washington, you would:
pay 10.4% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.50
|
|
Washington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.8% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.80
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.22
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.59
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$3.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$9.15
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.66
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.36
|
|
Washington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of groceries
pay 10.2% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$19.41
|
|
Washington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of transportation
pay 14.8% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$75.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,433.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,500.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$153.80
|
|
Washington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of housing
pay 52.2% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,211.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$20,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of childcare
pay 16.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.63
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$50.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$14.75
|
|
Washington vs. Lake Forest - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.4% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Lake Forest
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$140.00
|
|
Washington vs. Lake Forest - 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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