Cost of living comparison
compared to
Salt Lake City vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Salt Lake City is 23.2% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 24.7% less in Salt Lake City
- Groceries
-
pay 22.0% less in Salt Lake City
- Transportation
-
pay 3.7% less in Salt Lake City
- Housing
-
pay 15.7% less in Salt Lake City
- Childcare
-
pay 57.5% less in Salt Lake City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 28.9% less in Salt Lake City
- Clothing
-
pay 10.1% less in Salt Lake City
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, housing, and clothing are lower in Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Salt Lake City instead of Washington, you would:
pay 24.7% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.25
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.23
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.83
|
|
Washington vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.0% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$6.43
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.47
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$4.23
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.60
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.86
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.63
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.24
|
|
Washington vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of groceries
pay 3.7% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.36
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$85.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$34,677.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$13.93
|
|
Washington vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of transportation
pay 15.7% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$80.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,633.85
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,392.27
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$134.44
|
|
Washington vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of housing
pay 57.5% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,044.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$18,333.33
|
|
Washington vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of childcare
pay 28.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.19
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$30.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$14.00
|
|
Washington vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.1% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$44.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$105.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$100.83
|
|
Washington vs. Salt Lake 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
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Salt Lake City or Washington. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.