Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 12.4% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.3% less in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 30.9% less in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 33.6% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 22.6% less in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 17.3% less in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.4% less in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 13.3% more in United Kingdom
United Kingdom vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of Washington, you would:
pay 10.3% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.26
|
$21.32
£15.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.24
|
$10.25
£7.69
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$2.54
£1.91
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.18
|
$1.79
£1.35
|
|
Washington vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 30.9% less for groceries
|
Washington
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.04
|
$1.67
£1.26
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.06
|
$4.62
£3.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.15
|
$6.01
£4.51
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.91
|
$3.96
£2.97
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.11
|
$3.93
£2.95
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.34
|
$1.32
£0.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
|
$0.73
£0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.87
|
$1.21
£0.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.03
|
$1.51
£1.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$0.76
£0.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$0.72
£0.54
|
|
Washington vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 33.6% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.99
|
$7.59
£5.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$70.32
|
$99.20
£74.43
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,567.40
|
$37,629.43
£28,233.36
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.13
|
$23.43
£17.58
|
|
Washington vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 22.6% less for housing
|
Washington
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.56
|
$41.42
£31.08
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,772.00
|
$1,299.59
£975.08
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,547.68
|
$1,069.01
£802.08
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$175.22
|
$239.96
£180.04
|
|
Washington vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 17.3% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,891.11
|
$1,589.10
£1,192.30
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,281.22
|
$23,025.39
£17,275.95
|
|
Washington vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 0.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.38
|
$6.50
£4.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.43
|
$4.66
£3.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.44
|
$22.34
£16.76
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.23
|
$49.72
£37.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.12
|
$14.11
£10.58
|
|
Washington vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.3% more for clothing
|
Washington
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.08
|
$85.37
£64.05
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.93
|
$44.93
£33.71
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.87
|
$95.35
£71.54
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.43
|
$98.21
£73.68
|
|
Washington vs. United Kingdom - 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
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cost of living in United States vs. United Kingdom.
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