Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mechelen vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Mechelen is 12.6% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.2% more in Mechelen
- Groceries
-
pay 26.4% less in Mechelen
- Transportation
-
pay 34.7% more in Mechelen
- Housing
-
pay 31.6% less in Mechelen
- Childcare
-
pay 65.0% less in Mechelen
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 27.3% less in Mechelen
- Clothing
-
pay 22.3% more in Mechelen
The cost of transportation, clothing, and restaurants in Mechelen are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Mechelen.
Mechelen vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mechelen instead of Washington, you would:
pay 5.2% more for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$23.36
€20.06
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.85
€11.03
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$3.45
€2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$3.14
€2.70
|
|
Washington vs. Mechelen - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.4% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$2.81
€2.41
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$8.55
€7.34
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.72
€4.05
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$3.79
€3.25
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.42
€4.65
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.30
€1.11
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.05
€0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.02
€0.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.41
€1.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.86
€0.73
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.96
€0.82
|
|
Washington vs. Mechelen - Cost of groceries
pay 34.7% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$7.21
€6.20
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$57.23
€49.15
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$30,776.53
€26,431.22
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$29.20
€25.08
|
|
Washington vs. Mechelen - Cost of transportation
pay 31.6% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$50.22
€43.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$992.79
€852.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$856.53
€735.59
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$178.28
€153.11
|
|
Washington vs. Mechelen - Cost of housing
pay 65.0% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$583.99
€501.54
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$19,301.03
€16,575.94
|
|
Washington vs. Mechelen - Cost of childcare
pay 27.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.84
€5.02
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.22
€3.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.85
€11.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$31.15
€26.75
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.48
€13.29
|
|
Washington vs. Mechelen - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.3% more for clothing
|
Washington
|
Mechelen
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$114.61
€98.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$54.02
€46.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$108.62
€93.29
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$163.52
€140.43
|
|
Washington vs. Mechelen - 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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