Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rapid City vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Rapid City is 29.7% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.0% less in Rapid City
- Groceries
-
pay 21.2% less in Rapid City
- Transportation
-
pay 24.1% less in Rapid City
- Housing
-
pay 33.4% less in Rapid City
- Childcare
-
pay 73.6% less in Rapid City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 34.3% less in Rapid City
- Clothing
-
pay 1.5% less in Rapid City
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Rapid City.
Rapid City vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rapid City instead of Washington, you would:
pay 20.0% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.43
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$3.63
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.66
|
|
Washington vs. Rapid City - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.2% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$2.97
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.61
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.96
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.31
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.76
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$1.79
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.26
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.43
|
|
Washington vs. Rapid City - Cost of groceries
pay 24.1% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.08
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$35,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$13.07
|
|
Washington vs. Rapid City - Cost of transportation
pay 33.4% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$57.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,030.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,138.80
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$131.52
|
|
Washington vs. Rapid City - Cost of housing
pay 73.6% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$700.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
?? | |
Washington vs. Rapid City - Cost of childcare
pay 34.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$3.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$51.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$12.00
|
|
Washington vs. Rapid City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.5% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Rapid City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$61.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$75.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$78.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$110.00
|
|
Washington vs. Rapid City - 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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