Cost of living comparison
compared to
State College vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
State College is 24.2% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.3% less in State College
- Groceries
-
pay 25.7% less in State College
- Transportation
-
pay 11.5% more in State College
- Housing
-
pay 27.4% less in State College
- Childcare
-
pay 44.7% less in State College
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 32.0% less in State College
- Clothing
-
pay 24.8% less in State College
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in State College.
State College vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in State College instead of Washington, you would:
pay 26.3% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$15.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$9.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.69
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.00
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.7% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$3.46
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$4.83
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$3.98
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$3.80
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.64
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.27
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$0.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.32
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of groceries
pay 11.5% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.38
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$85.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,344.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$23.20
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of transportation
pay 27.4% less for housing
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$65.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,500.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,167.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$121.12
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of housing
pay 44.7% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,046.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$28,560.00
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of childcare
pay 32.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$25.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$12.00
|
|
Washington vs. State College - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.8% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
State College
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$42.13
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$40.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$114.75
|
|
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: December 2025
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