London vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	London	Washington
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3851	$3328
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$8597	$7867
🏠 One person rent	$2689	$2171
🏘️ Family rent	$4575	$3805
🍽️ Food expenses	$592	$759
🚐 Transport expenses	$400	$156
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4336	$6208
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	100	100
😀 Quality of life	99	96
🏙️ Population	8.8M	690K

The cost of living in London is 16% more expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 8th and 73rd ($3851 vs $3328) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 58th 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 1.1 months in London compared to 1.9 months in Washington. London ranked 1st best city to live in the United Kingdom vs Washington ranked 4th in the United States, while ranked 5th and 26th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in London vs Washington infographic

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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	$22.2	$21.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$91.7	$100
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.2	$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$9.11	$8.68
☕ Cappuccino	$5.24	$6.08
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.08	$3.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$3237	$2374
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2291	$1874
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4710	$4381
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4163	$3331
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$170	$127
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$264	$193
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$39.1	$70.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	4.83%	6.47%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$21687	$6387
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$11040	$4905
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$4.04	$2.75
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$101	$98.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$31.5	$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.85	$0.9
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.65	$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.11	$3.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.38	$5.04
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.16	$4.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12	$18.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.17	$16.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.8	$19.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.05	$5.55
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.72	$2.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.18	$4.89
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.28	$6.42
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.43	$2.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.82	$3.61
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.2	$1.7
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.31	$3.58
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$13.2	$16.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$3.12	$4.27
🚬 Cigarette pack	$22.4	$13.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.31	$9.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$6	$4.82
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.76	$4.34
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.97	$2.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$59	$108
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$18.6	$16.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$69.9	$196
💇 Haircut, simple	$16.9	$35
👖 Brand Jeans	$110	$72.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$120	$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$2511	$2676
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$27583	$24065

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	$2960
11 km or 7 mi	Wimbledon	$2512
13 km or 8.3 mi	Richmond	$2449
15 km or 9.3 mi	Croydon	$2514
16 km or 10 mi	Greenford	$2435
19 km or 12 mi	Ewell	$2367
21 km or 13 mi	Coulsdon	$2352
23 km or 14 mi	Esher	$2337
24 km or 15 mi	Walton-on-Thames	$2326
25 km or 15 mi	Watford	$2633
27 km or 17 mi	Upminster	$2299
28 km or 17 mi	Rickmansworth	$2374
31 km or 19 mi	St Albans	$2456
32 km or 20 mi	Grays	$2200
32 km or 20 mi	Hertford	$2197
32 km or 20 mi	Slough	$2273
32 km or 20 mi	Brentwood	$2655
35 km or 22 mi	Harlow	$2091
35 km or 22 mi	Gravesend	$2176
35 km or 22 mi	Hemel Hempstead	$2274
37 km or 23 mi	Woking	$2515
38 km or 24 mi	Harpenden	$2224
40 km or 25 mi	Billericay	$2205
41 km or 25 mi	Maidenhead	$2785
43 km or 27 mi	East Grinstead	$2206
43 km or 27 mi	Basildon	$2164
43 km or 27 mi	Guildford	$2559
44 km or 27 mi	Crawley	$2275
44 km or 27 mi	Stevenage	$2223
44 km or 27 mi	Bracknell	$2469
44 km or 28 mi	Rochester	$1780
44 km or 28 mi	Tonbridge	$2118
45 km or 28 mi	High Wycombe	$2122
46 km or 28 mi	Bishop's Stortford	$2132
46 km or 28 mi	Luton	$2160
47 km or 29 mi	Chatham	$2419
49 km or 30 mi	Chelmsford	$2000
49 km or 30 mi	Gillingham	$2245
49 km or 30 mi	Godalming	$2416
49 km or 31 mi	Farnborough	$2165

Cities near Washington

Distance	City	Cost of living
2.5 km or 1.5 mi	Georgetown	$3054
9.5 km or 5.9 mi	Bailey's Crossroads	$2576
10 km or 6.3 mi	Alexandria	$2919
11 km or 6.8 mi	Bethesda	$2710
12 km or 7.5 mi	Silver Spring	$2287
15 km or 9.2 mi	College Park	$2563
17 km or 11 mi	Springfield	$2355
17 km or 11 mi	Greenbelt	$2482
23 km or 14 mi	Rockville	$2612
24 km or 15 mi	Fairfax	$2791
26 km or 16 mi	Bowie	$2495
27 km or 17 mi	Laurel	$2338
28 km or 17 mi	Reston	$2697
30 km or 19 mi	Waldorf	$2509
31 km or 19 mi	Gaithersburg	$2522
32 km or 20 mi	Herndon	$2773
34 km or 21 mi	Woodbridge	$2582
34 km or 21 mi	Marumsco	$2506
36 km or 22 mi	Centreville	$3275
37 km or 23 mi	Germantown	$2601
38 km or 23 mi	Columbia	$2788
41 km or 26 mi	Manassas	$2693
42 km or 26 mi	Ashburn	$2755
47 km or 29 mi	Annapolis	$2940
49 km or 31 mi	Catonsville	$2450
51 km or 32 mi	Leesburg	$2288
57 km or 35 mi	Eldersburg	$2494
57 km or 35 mi	Baltimore	$2323
61 km or 38 mi	Owings Mills	$2581
68 km or 42 mi	Frederick	$2339
76 km or 47 mi	Fredericksburg	$2347
83 km or 52 mi	Charles Town	$1845
87 km or 54 mi	Edgewood	$3069
92 km or 57 mi	Bel Air South	$2824
93 km or 58 mi	Bel Air North	$2699
102 km or 63 mi	Hanover	$2255
102 km or 63 mi	Hagerstown	$2066
103 km or 64 mi	Winchester	$2400
106 km or 66 mi	Waynesboro	$1935
122 km or 76 mi	York	$1949