Cost of living comparison
compared to
Reston vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Reston is 6.8% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.7% less in Reston
- Groceries
-
pay 5.2% more in Reston
- Transportation
-
pay 9.2% more in Reston
- Housing
-
pay 9.3% less in Reston
- Childcare
-
pay 18.8% less in Reston
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.8% less in Reston
- Clothing
-
pay 9.5% less in Reston
The cost of transportation and groceries in Reston are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and housing are lower in Reston.
Reston vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Reston instead of Washington, you would:
pay 9.7% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.88
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.55
|
|
Washington vs. Reston - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.2% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$4.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$9.55
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.39
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$5.33
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$9.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$3.41
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.11
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.58
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.48
|
|
Washington vs. Reston - Cost of groceries
pay 9.2% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.17
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$130.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$34,231.99
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$13.94
|
|
Washington vs. Reston - Cost of transportation
pay 9.3% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$67.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,000.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,566.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$166.32
|
|
Washington vs. Reston - Cost of housing
pay 18.8% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,923.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$36,066.67
|
|
Washington vs. Reston - Cost of childcare
pay 14.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.62
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$100.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.25
|
|
Washington vs. Reston - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.5% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Reston
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$59.22
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$48.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$98.40
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$120.00
|
|
Washington vs. Reston - 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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