Cost of living comparison
compared to
Switzerland vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Switzerland is 24.1% more expensive than Washington.
Switzerland vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Switzerland instead of Washington, you would:
pay 52.3% more for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Switzerland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.26
|
$30.33
CHF25.05
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.24
|
$18.14
CHF14.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$5.29
CHF4.37
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.18
|
$4.78
CHF3.95
|
|
Washington vs. Switzerland - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.7% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Switzerland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.04
|
$3.50
CHF2.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.06
|
$12.96
CHF10.70
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.15
|
$8.10
CHF6.69
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.91
|
$7.57
CHF6.25
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.11
|
$12.18
CHF10.06
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.34
|
$1.60
CHF1.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
|
$0.91
CHF0.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.87
|
$1.25
CHF1.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.03
|
$2.25
CHF1.85
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$0.85
CHF0.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$0.94
CHF0.78
|
|
Washington vs. Switzerland - Cost of groceries
pay 57.7% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Switzerland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.99
|
$8.57
CHF7.08
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$70.32
|
$118.70
CHF98.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,567.40
|
$40,149.55
CHF33,160.79
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.13
|
$42.12
CHF34.79
|
|
Washington vs. Switzerland - Cost of transportation
pay 1.7% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Switzerland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.56
|
$58.17
CHF48.05
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,772.00
|
$1,813.65
CHF1,497.95
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,547.68
|
$1,535.97
CHF1,268.60
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$175.22
|
$206.49
CHF170.54
|
|
Washington vs. Switzerland - Cost of housing
pay 28.2% more for childcare
|
Washington
|
Switzerland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,891.11
|
$2,648.71
CHF2,187.65
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,281.22
|
$33,203.62
CHF27,423.94
|
|
Washington vs. Switzerland - Cost of childcare
pay 36.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Switzerland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.38
|
$8.68
CHF7.17
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$5.95
CHF4.92
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.44
|
$10.85
CHF8.96
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.23
|
$93.96
CHF77.60
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.12
|
$22.75
CHF18.79
|
|
Washington vs. Switzerland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 87.3% more for clothing
|
Washington
|
Switzerland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.08
|
$135.00
CHF111.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.93
|
$65.94
CHF54.46
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.87
|
$152.86
CHF126.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.43
|
$196.87
CHF162.60
|
|
Washington vs. Switzerland - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Washington vs. Switzerland
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Switzerland?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 3 statistics
Be 68.1% more likely to live below the poverty line in Switzerland
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Washington is about 4.2 times bigger than Switzerland.
→
Moving from Washington to Switzerland · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Seattle vs Zurich
→
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. Switzerland.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Switzerland.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Switzerland or Washington. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.