Cost of living comparison
compared to
State College vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
State College is 29.8% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 31.1% less in State College
- Groceries
-
pay 33.2% less in State College
- Transportation
-
pay 12.9% less in State College
- Housing
-
pay 31.6% less in State College
- Childcare
-
pay 50.4% less in State College
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 33.9% less in State College
- Clothing
-
pay 15.8% less in State College
State College vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in State College instead of Washington, you would:
pay 31.1% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$28.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$9.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.17
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.64
|
$1.72
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.2% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.11
|
$3.03
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.53
|
$4.80
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.95
|
$4.35
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.64
|
$3.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.63
|
$4.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.17
|
$1.60
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.06
|
$0.59
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.27
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.64
|
$1.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.29
|
$0.80
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.73
|
$1.15
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of groceries
pay 12.9% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$4.17
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$120.00
|
$85.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,375.00
|
$35,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$13.70
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of transportation
pay 31.6% less for housing
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.77
|
$60.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,717.33
|
$1,742.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,228.89
|
$1,271.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$161.22
|
$121.12
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of housing
pay 50.4% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,221.33
|
$1,046.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$41,506.00
|
$27,666.67
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of childcare
pay 33.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.00
|
$6.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.15
|
$3.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.94
|
$11.86
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$114.30
|
$25.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$16.50
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.8% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$71.42
|
$46.16
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.11
|
$40.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.50
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.16
|
$131.25
|
|
Washington vs. State College - 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: October 2026
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