Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York City vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 19.8% more expensive than Washington.

Restaurants: pay 14.5% more in New York City
Groceries: pay 14.5% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 18.1% more in New York City
Housing: pay 24.1% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 48.7% more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.0% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 5.1% less in New York City

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, and groceries in New York City are more expensive than in Washington.

New York City vs. Washington Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Washington, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.5% more for restaurants

	Washington	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$25.00	$30.00	+20.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$12.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.78	$3.22	+15.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.22	$2.39	+7.6%
Average			+14.5%

Washington vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.5% more for groceries

	Washington	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$4.34	$4.82	+10.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.84	$8.52	+8.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.14	$5.80	+39.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.91	$5.06	+29.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.73	$6.82	+1.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.70	$3.25	+20.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85	$1.04	+21.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.46	$2.67	+8.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.59	$2.70	+4.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55	$1.73	+12.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.61	$1.66	+3.2%
Average			+14.5%

Washington vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.1% more for transportation

	Washington	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.66	$3.80	+4.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$75.00	$132.50	+76.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,699.74	$35,000.00	-2.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.88	$22.40	-6.2%
Average			+18.1%

Washington vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.1% more for housing

	Washington	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.46	$68.20	+2.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,582.95	$4,097.13	+58.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,028.70	$2,883.17	+42.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$146.65	$136.26	-7.1%
Average			+24.1%

Washington vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 48.7% more for childcare

	Washington	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,273.25	$3,253.56	+43.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$38,250.00	$59,000.00	+54.2%
Average			+48.7%

Washington vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Washington	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.00	$9.00	+12.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.55	$5.95	+7.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.75	$17.00	+44.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$106.36	$148.06	+39.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18	$20.00	+16.4%
Average			+24.0%

Washington vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.1% less for clothing

	Washington	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.13	$68.92	-7.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.77	$45.62	-10.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.47	$107.85	+2.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$178.48	$168.36	-5.7%
Average			-5.1%

Washington vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

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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: January 2025

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