Cost of living comparison

compared to

Pasadena vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary

Pasadena is 3.3% more expensive than Washington.

Restaurants
pay 7.5% less in Pasadena
Groceries
pay 2.1% less in Pasadena
Transportation
pay 0.4% more in Pasadena
Housing
pay 25.4% more in Pasadena
Childcare
pay 7.8% less in Pasadena
Entertainment and Sports
pay 11.0% less in Pasadena
Clothing
pay 25.7% more in Pasadena

The cost of clothing, housing, and transportation in Pasadena are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Pasadena.

Pasadena vs. Washington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Pasadena instead of Washington, you would:

pay 7.5% less for restaurants

 
Washington
Pasadena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $25.00
 
$18.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$11.50
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.20
 
$3.17
 

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pay 2.1% less for groceries

 
Washington
Pasadena
Bread
1 loaf
$4.43
 
$4.85
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.04
 
$7.99
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.19
 
$4.71
 

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pay 0.4% more for transportation

 
Washington
Pasadena
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.53
 
$4.73
 
Monthly public transit pass $77.50
 
$52.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,699.74
 
??

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pay 25.4% more for housing

 
Washington
Pasadena
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$69.41
 
$71.25
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,568.48
 
$3,433.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $2,088.16
 
$2,666.67
 

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pay 7.8% less for childcare

 
Washington
Pasadena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,650.00
 
$3,900.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $40,166.67
 
$15,000.00
 

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pay 11.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Washington
Pasadena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$10.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $6.07
 
$5.10
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$13.00
 
??

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pay 25.7% more for clothing

 
Washington
Pasadena
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$76.00
 
$90.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$48.40
 
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.31
 
$93.75
 

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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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