Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Wisconsin Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 11.8% more expensive than Wisconsin.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.7% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 12.5% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 19.6% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 28.1% more in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 10.2% less in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.1% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 0.4% less in Washington
The cost of housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in Washington are more expensive than in Wisconsin. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Washington.
Washington vs. Wisconsin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Wisconsin, you would:
pay 14.7% more for restaurants
|
Wisconsin
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.68
|
$20.22
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.05
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.63
|
$2.63
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
|
$2.05
|
|
Wisconsin vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.5% more for groceries
|
Wisconsin
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.29
|
$3.94
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.16
|
$7.07
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.52
|
$4.20
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.12
|
$4.68
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.37
|
$5.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.11
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.86
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.90
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.13
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.02
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.23
|
$1.24
|
|
Wisconsin vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 19.6% more for transportation
|
Wisconsin
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.13
|
$4.20
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.85
|
$67.70
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,550.59
|
$34,322.93
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.78
|
$17.81
|
|
Wisconsin vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 28.1% more for housing
|
Wisconsin
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.49
|
$72.42
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,194.55
|
$1,724.04
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$970.14
|
$1,522.88
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.51
|
$141.51
|
|
Wisconsin vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 10.2% less for childcare
|
Wisconsin
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,662.39
|
$1,634.82
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$31,803.36
|
$25,866.06
|
|
Wisconsin vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 18.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wisconsin
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.51
|
$6.54
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.99
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.26
|
$11.03
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.71
|
$56.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.06
|
$14.46
|
|
Wisconsin vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.4% less for clothing
|
Wisconsin
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.31
|
$49.71
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.83
|
$41.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.73
|
$88.77
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.46
|
$108.22
|
|
Wisconsin vs. Washington - 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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