London vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	London	Washington
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3740	$3306
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$8537	$7823
🏠 One person rent	$2516	$2128
🏘️ Family rent	$4294	$3806
🍽️ Food expenses	$631	$764
🚐 Transport expenses	$412	$168
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$3678	$6170
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	100	100
😀 Quality of life	96	93
🏙️ Population	8.8M	690K

The cost of living in London is 13% more expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 20th and 92nd ($3740 vs $3306) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 62nd in the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. Check the United Kingdom vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in London compared to 1.9 months in Washington. London ranked 1st best city to live in the United Kingdom vs Washington ranked 7th in the United States, while ranked 12th and 52nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in London vs Washington

Prices for goods and services in London and Washington are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	London	Washington
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$22.5	$21.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$98	$102
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$11.7	$12.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$9.2	$8.25
☕ Cappuccino	$5.94	$6.13
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.15	$3.44
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2958	$2369
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2140	$1820
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4865	$4324
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3773	$3337
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$169	$130
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$260	$203
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$42.3	$67.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.75%	6.47%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$20369	$7337
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$10989	$4181
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$4.62	$2.76
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$105	$115
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$31.9	$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.86	$0.86
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.87	$1.15
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.25	$3.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.42	$5.46
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.71	$4.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.7	$18.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.98	$15.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.3	$19.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.13	$5.59
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$1.98
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.98	$5.14
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.8	$5.97
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.46	$2.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$3.76
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.2	$1.62
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.79	$3.57
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14	$17.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.33	$4.53
🚬 Cigarette pack	$23.6	$13.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.84	$9.25
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$6.87	$4.8
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.9	$4.36
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.44	$2.54
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$68.5	$113
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$20.3	$16.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$79.9	$198
💇 Haircut, simple	$15.2	$35.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$117	$74.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$122	$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$2594	$2250
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$30567	$24788

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near London

Distance	City	Cost of living
1.3 km or 0.8 mi	Westminster	$3038
11 km or 7 mi	Wimbledon	$2559
13 km or 8.3 mi	Richmond	$2498
15 km or 9.3 mi	Croydon	$2564
16 km or 10 mi	Greenford	$2419
19 km or 12 mi	Ewell	$2417
21 km or 13 mi	Coulsdon	$2406
23 km or 14 mi	Esher	$2395
24 km or 15 mi	Walton-on-Thames	$2382
25 km or 15 mi	Watford	$2661
27 km or 17 mi	Upminster	$2336
28 km or 17 mi	Rickmansworth	$2426
31 km or 19 mi	St Albans	$2490
32 km or 20 mi	Grays	$2227
32 km or 20 mi	Hertford	$2271
32 km or 20 mi	Slough	$2345
32 km or 20 mi	Brentwood	$2675
35 km or 22 mi	Harlow	$2152
35 km or 22 mi	Gravesend	$2259
35 km or 22 mi	Hemel Hempstead	$2321
37 km or 23 mi	Woking	$2567
38 km or 24 mi	Harpenden	$2276
40 km or 25 mi	Billericay	$2260
41 km or 25 mi	Maidenhead	$2846
43 km or 27 mi	East Grinstead	$2265
43 km or 27 mi	Basildon	$2188
43 km or 27 mi	Guildford	$2622
44 km or 27 mi	Crawley	$2385
44 km or 27 mi	Stevenage	$2262
44 km or 27 mi	Bracknell	$2485
44 km or 28 mi	Rochester	$1860
44 km or 28 mi	Tonbridge	$2191
45 km or 28 mi	High Wycombe	$2215
46 km or 28 mi	Bishop's Stortford	$2223
46 km or 28 mi	Luton	$2212
47 km or 29 mi	Chatham	$2576
49 km or 30 mi	Chelmsford	$2111
49 km or 30 mi	Gillingham	$2377
49 km or 30 mi	Godalming	$2472
49 km or 31 mi	Farnborough	$2199

Cities near Washington

Distance	City	Cost of living
2.5 km or 1.5 mi	Georgetown	$3030
9.5 km or 5.9 mi	Bailey's Crossroads	$2581
10 km or 6.3 mi	Alexandria	$2877
11 km or 6.8 mi	Bethesda	$2763
12 km or 7.5 mi	Silver Spring	$2252
15 km or 9.2 mi	College Park	$2777
17 km or 11 mi	Springfield	$2379
17 km or 11 mi	Greenbelt	$2650
23 km or 14 mi	Rockville	$2499
24 km or 15 mi	Fairfax	$2818
26 km or 16 mi	Bowie	$2544
27 km or 17 mi	Laurel	$2344
28 km or 17 mi	Reston	$2721
30 km or 19 mi	Waldorf	$2522
31 km or 19 mi	Gaithersburg	$2526
32 km or 20 mi	Herndon	$2800
34 km or 21 mi	Woodbridge	$2681
34 km or 21 mi	Marumsco	$2588
36 km or 22 mi	Centreville	$3292
37 km or 23 mi	Germantown	$2664
38 km or 23 mi	Columbia	$2830
41 km or 26 mi	Manassas	$2453
42 km or 26 mi	Ashburn	$2736
47 km or 29 mi	Annapolis	$2951
49 km or 31 mi	Catonsville	$2443
51 km or 32 mi	Leesburg	$2304
57 km or 35 mi	Eldersburg	$2521
57 km or 35 mi	Baltimore	$2234
61 km or 38 mi	Owings Mills	$2586
68 km or 42 mi	Frederick	$2333
76 km or 47 mi	Fredericksburg	$2372
83 km or 52 mi	Charles Town	$1944
87 km or 54 mi	Edgewood	$2985
92 km or 57 mi	Bel Air South	$2755
93 km or 58 mi	Bel Air North	$2667
102 km or 63 mi	Hanover	$2257
102 km or 63 mi	Hagerstown	$2024
103 km or 64 mi	Winchester	$2399
106 km or 66 mi	Waynesboro	$2000
122 km or 76 mi	York	$2003