Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mountain View vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Mountain View is 3.5% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.4% less in Mountain View
- Groceries
-
pay 6.2% more in Mountain View
- Transportation
-
pay 15.5% more in Mountain View
- Housing
-
pay 13.8% more in Mountain View
- Childcare
-
pay 15.5% less in Mountain View
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.0% less in Mountain View
- Clothing
-
pay 12.9% less in Mountain View
The cost of transportation, housing, and groceries in Mountain View are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Mountain View.
Mountain View vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mountain View instead of Washington, you would:
pay 16.4% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.44
|
|
Washington vs. Mountain View - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.2% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$4.59
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$8.27
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.47
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$2.19
|
|
Washington vs. Mountain View - Cost of groceries
pay 15.5% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$18.41
|
|
Washington vs. Mountain View - Cost of transportation
pay 13.8% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$62.47
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,812.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$2,400.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$205.96
|
|
Washington vs. Mountain View - Cost of housing
pay 15.5% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,850.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Washington vs. Mountain View - Cost of childcare
pay 15.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$72.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$16.00
|
|
Washington vs. Mountain View - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.9% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$125.00
|
|
Washington vs. Mountain View - 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: February 2026
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