Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Clara vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Santa Clara is 2.7% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.5% more in Santa Clara
- Groceries
-
pay 0.6% less in Santa Clara
- Transportation
-
pay 10.0% more in Santa Clara
- Housing
-
pay 9.1% more in Santa Clara
- Childcare
-
pay 1.3% less in Santa Clara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.6% less in Santa Clara
- Clothing
-
pay 27.2% less in Santa Clara
The cost of transportation, housing, and restaurants in Santa Clara are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including clothing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and groceries are lower in Santa Clara.
Santa Clara vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Clara instead of Washington, you would:
pay 4.5% more for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$3.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.34
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Clara - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.6% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$4.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$5.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.90
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.10
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.25
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.33
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.55
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Clara - Cost of groceries
pay 10.0% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.59
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$70.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$30,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$22.70
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Clara - Cost of transportation
pay 9.1% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$63.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$3,000.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$2,400.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$166.82
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Clara - Cost of housing
pay 1.3% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$2,738.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$37,770.00
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Clara - Cost of childcare
pay 13.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$8.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$100.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$14.50
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Clara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.2% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$56.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$40.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$77.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$80.00
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Clara - 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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