Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Bend vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
South Bend is 38.8% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 42.0% less in South Bend
- Groceries
-
pay 40.9% less in South Bend
- Transportation
-
pay 11.6% less in South Bend
- Housing
-
pay 36.7% less in South Bend
- Childcare
-
pay 56.0% less in South Bend
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 34.2% less in South Bend
- Clothing
-
pay 50.2% less in South Bend
Expenses including childcare, clothing, restaurants, groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in South Bend.
South Bend vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Bend instead of Washington, you would:
pay 42.0% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
South Bend
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$1.41
|
|
Washington vs. South Bend - Cost of restaurants
pay 40.9% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
South Bend
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$2.66
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$5.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.02
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$2.97
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$4.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.60
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.10
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$0.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.95
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$0.72
|
|
Washington vs. South Bend - Cost of groceries
pay 11.6% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
South Bend
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.16
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$35.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$34,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$20.70
|
|
Washington vs. South Bend - Cost of transportation
pay 36.7% less for housing
|
Washington
|
South Bend
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$60.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,625.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$825.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$93.79
|
|
Washington vs. South Bend - Cost of housing
pay 56.0% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
South Bend
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$950.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$21,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. South Bend - Cost of childcare
pay 34.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
South Bend
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.88
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$6.42
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$42.47
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$14.00
|
|
Washington vs. South Bend - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 50.2% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
South Bend
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$39.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$29.99
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$50.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$50.00
|
|
Washington vs. South Bend - 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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