Cost of living comparison
compared to
Traverse City vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Traverse City is 31.8% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.4% less in Traverse City
- Groceries
-
pay 23.1% less in Traverse City
- Transportation
-
pay 34.4% less in Traverse City
- Housing
-
pay 20.3% less in Traverse City
- Childcare
-
pay 66.7% less in Traverse City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 44.7% less in Traverse City
- Clothing
-
pay 11.0% less in Traverse City
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and housing are lower in Traverse City.
Traverse City vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Traverse City instead of Washington, you would:
pay 22.4% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.25
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.14
|
|
Washington vs. Traverse City - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.1% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$2.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$4.64
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$2.83
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$2.61
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$5.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.74
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.72
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.21
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.45
|
|
Washington vs. Traverse City - Cost of groceries
pay 34.4% less for transportation
|
Washington
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$3.27
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$30.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
?? | |
Washington vs. Traverse City - Cost of transportation
pay 20.3% less for housing
|
Washington
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$67.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$1,983.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$1,418.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$112.10
|
|
Washington vs. Traverse City - Cost of housing
pay 66.7% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,030.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$11,136.00
|
|
Washington vs. Traverse City - Cost of childcare
pay 44.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$3.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$4.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$63.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$9.50
|
|
Washington vs. Traverse City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.0% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Traverse City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$74.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$41.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$111.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$86.67
|
|
Washington vs. Traverse City - 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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