Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Rosa vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Santa Rosa is 3.3% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.6% more in Santa Rosa
- Groceries
-
pay 15.0% more in Santa Rosa
- Transportation
-
pay 1.0% less in Santa Rosa
- Housing
-
pay 1.4% more in Santa Rosa
- Childcare
-
pay 15.0% less in Santa Rosa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.5% less in Santa Rosa
- Clothing
-
pay 9.8% less in Santa Rosa
The cost of groceries, restaurants, and housing in Santa Rosa are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, clothing, and transportation are lower in Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Rosa instead of Washington, you would:
pay 1.6% more for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Santa Rosa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$3.25
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.83
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Rosa - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.0% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Santa Rosa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$4.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$8.55
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.65
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.97
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$3.34
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.25
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$3.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.55
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.65
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Rosa - Cost of groceries
pay 1.0% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Santa Rosa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.92
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$19.20
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Rosa - Cost of transportation
pay 1.4% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Santa Rosa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$72.18
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,283.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,855.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$181.59
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Rosa - Cost of housing
pay 15.0% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Santa Rosa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$40,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Rosa - Cost of childcare
pay 15.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Santa Rosa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.22
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$79.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$14.00
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Rosa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.8% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Santa Rosa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$56.88
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$103.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$136.67
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Rosa - 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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