Cost of living comparison
compared to
Saint Paul vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Saint Paul is 18.0% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.9% less in Saint Paul
- Groceries
-
pay 14.6% less in Saint Paul
- Transportation
-
pay 9.8% more in Saint Paul
- Housing
-
pay 19.7% less in Saint Paul
- Childcare
-
pay 35.2% less in Saint Paul
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 27.1% less in Saint Paul
- Clothing
-
pay 21.3% less in Saint Paul
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, housing, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Saint Paul.
Saint Paul vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Saint Paul instead of Washington, you would:
pay 17.9% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.43
|
|
Washington vs. Saint Paul - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.6% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.84
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$4.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.81
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$3.19
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.36
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.68
|
|
Washington vs. Saint Paul - Cost of groceries
pay 9.8% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.04
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$120.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,165.86
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$16.18
|
|
Washington vs. Saint Paul - Cost of transportation
pay 19.7% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$75.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,244.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,008.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$170.84
|
|
Washington vs. Saint Paul - Cost of housing
pay 35.2% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,453.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$30,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. Saint Paul - Cost of childcare
pay 27.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$41.86
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$14.00
|
|
Washington vs. Saint Paul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.3% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$39.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$42.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$84.60
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$127.50
|
|
Washington vs. Saint Paul - 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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