Cost of living comparison

 United States
compared to
 Tacoma (WA), United States
Tacoma vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

Tacoma is 16.3% more expensive than United States overall.

Restaurants
pay 7.8% more in Tacoma
Groceries
pay 10.4% more in Tacoma
Transportation
pay 7.0% more in Tacoma
Housing
pay 23.2% more in Tacoma
Childcare
pay 43.2% more in Tacoma
Entertainment and Sports
pay 10.1% more in Tacoma
Clothing
pay 12.1% more in Tacoma

The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Tacoma are more expensive than in United States.

Tacoma vs. United States Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Tacoma instead of United States, you would:

pay 7.8% more for restaurants

 
United States
Tacoma
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.59
 
$16.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.47
 
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.50
 
$2.82
 

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pay 10.4% more for groceries

 
United States
Tacoma
Bread
1 loaf
$3.49
 
$4.25
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.33
 
$6.20
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.91
 
$4.40
 

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pay 7.0% more for transportation

 
United States
Tacoma
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.61
 
$4.58
 
Monthly public transit pass $65.15
 
$62.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,583.67
 
$36,656.56
 

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pay 23.2% more for housing

 
United States
Tacoma
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$67.50
 
$88.86
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,655.99
 
$1,901.43
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,423.40
 
$1,670.03
 

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pay 43.2% more for childcare

 
United States
Tacoma
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,351.84
 
$1,965.10
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $22,265.44
 
$31,420.00
 

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pay 10.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
United States
Tacoma
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.78
 
$6.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.04
 
$5.29
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.68
 
$11.00
 

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pay 12.1% more for clothing

 
United States
Tacoma
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$50.38
 
$57.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.66
 
$44.33
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$85.52
 
$90.67
 

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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: May 2025
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