Philadelphia vs Washington - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Philadelphia	Washington
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2584	$3328
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5778	$7867
🏠 One person rent	$1504	$2171
🏘️ Family rent	$2234	$3805
🍽️ Food expenses	$732	$759
🚐 Transport expenses	$191	$156
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4329	$6208
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	100	100
😀 Quality of life	93	96
🏙️ Population	1.6M	690K

The cost of living in Philadelphia is 22% less expensive than in Washington. Cities ranked 744th and 73rd ($2584 vs $3328) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 660th and 58th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Philadelphia compared to 1.9 months in Washington. Ranked 25th vs 4th best cities to live in the United States, and 95th vs 26th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Philadelphia vs Washington infographic

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Prices in Philadelphia vs Washington

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

	Philadelphia	Washington
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$20	$21.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$95.3	$100
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$13.1	$12
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.02	$8.68
☕ Cappuccino	$5.04	$6.08
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$2.84	$3.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1597	$2374
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1193	$1874
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2401	$4381
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1807	$3331
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$153	$127
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$232	$193
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$76.4	$70.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.58%	6.47%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3243	$6387
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2372	$4905
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.52	$2.75
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$99	$98.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.5	$18.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.85	$0.9
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.39	$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$4.24	$3.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.95	$5.04
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.46	$4.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.6	$18.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13	$16.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.7	$19.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.04	$5.55
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.87	$2.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.5	$4.89
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.82	$6.42
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.1	$2.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.25	$3.61
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.47	$1.7
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.85	$3.58
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.1	$16.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.98	$4.27
🚬 Cigarette pack	$14.1	$13.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.23	$9.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$7.01	$4.82
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4	$4.34
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.35	$2.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$58.9	$108
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.9	$16.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$85.6	$196
💇 Haircut, simple	$28.6	$35
👖 Brand Jeans	$51.1	$72.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$95	$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$2021	$2676
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$15283	$24065

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Philadelphia

Distance	City	Cost of living
5.2 km or 3.2 mi	Camden	$2593
9.2 km or 5.7 mi	Pennsauken Township	$2580
12 km or 7.1 mi	Cherry Hill	$2638
12 km or 7.7 mi	West Deptford Township	$2616
16 km or 9.9 mi	Fox Chase	$2408
16 km or 9.9 mi	Deptford Township	$2603
19 km or 12 mi	Moorestown	$2578
21 km or 13 mi	Gloucester Township	$2603
21 km or 13 mi	Chester	$2476
22 km or 14 mi	Mount Laurel	$2568
25 km or 15 mi	Evesham Township	$2594
25 km or 16 mi	Willingboro Township	$2637
31 km or 19 mi	Medford	$2627
35 km or 22 mi	Levittown	$2358
35 km or 22 mi	Winslow Township	$2620
36 km or 23 mi	Monroe Township	$2610
38 km or 23 mi	West Chester	$2737
40 km or 25 mi	Wilmington	$2267
46 km or 28 mi	Trenton	$2676
46 km or 29 mi	Ewing Township	$2609
50 km or 31 mi	Hamilton Township	$2671
52 km or 32 mi	Pottstown	$2355
54 km or 33 mi	Lawrence Township	$2741
56 km or 35 mi	Vineland	$2533
58 km or 36 mi	Newark	$2121
59 km or 36 mi	Bridgeton	$2608
62 km or 38 mi	Princeton	$3102
63 km or 39 mi	Millville	$2524
64 km or 39 mi	East Windsor Township	$2797
65 km or 40 mi	Plainsboro Township	$2846
67 km or 42 mi	Montgomery Township	$2883
67 km or 42 mi	Manchester Township	$2714
71 km or 44 mi	Jackson Township	$2770
72 km or 45 mi	South Brunswick	$2880
77 km or 48 mi	Allentown	$2323
77 km or 48 mi	Bethlehem	$2278
77 km or 48 mi	Hillsborough Township	$2948
78 km or 48 mi	Reading	$2239
78 km or 49 mi	Barnegat Township	$2737
79 km or 49 mi	Manalapan Township	$2886

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