Cost of living comparison
compared to
Palo Alto vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Palo Alto is 12.4% more expensive than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.5% more in Palo Alto
- Groceries
-
pay 22.0% more in Palo Alto
- Transportation
-
pay 17.5% more in Palo Alto
- Housing
-
pay 28.2% more in Palo Alto
- Childcare
-
pay 5.5% more in Palo Alto
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.7% more in Palo Alto
- Clothing
-
pay 9.3% less in Palo Alto
The cost of housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, childcare, and restaurants in Palo Alto are more expensive than in Washington.
Palo Alto vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Palo Alto instead of Washington, you would:
pay 3.5% more for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.44
|
|
Washington vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.0% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$2.19
|
|
Washington vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries
pay 17.5% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.84
|
|
| 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
|
$19.06
|
|
Washington vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation
pay 28.2% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$3,600.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$3,148.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$179.63
|
|
Washington vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing
pay 5.5% more for childcare
|
Washington
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare
pay 19.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$206.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$16.00
|
|
Washington vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.3% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$67.50
|
|
|
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. Palo Alto - 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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