Washington vs Zurich - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Washington	Zurich
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3350	$3857
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7781	$9099
🏠 One person rent	$2159	$2413
🏘️ Family rent	$3818	$4235
🍽️ Food expenses	$775	$926
🚐 Transport expenses	$171	$235
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$7152	$8550
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	5 km	8 km
🎓 Higher education	100	82
😀 Quality of life	94	97
🏙️ Population	690K	452K

The cost of living in Washington is 13% less expensive than in Zurich. Cities ranked 74th and 11th ($3350 vs $3857) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 56th and 2nd in the United States and Switzerland, respectively. Check the United States vs Switzerland comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.1 months in Washington compared to 2.2 months in Zurich. Washington ranked 6th best city to live in the United States vs Zurich ranked 1st in Switzerland, while ranked 31st and 6th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Washington vs Zurich

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

	Washington	Zurich
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$22.9	$30.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$101	$79.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$12	$18.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.68	$10
☕ Cappuccino	$6.1	$7.52
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.39	$5.35
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2374	$2736
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1850	$2037
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4205	$5021
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3379	$3627
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$136	$178
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$206	$272
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$68.2	$57.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.12%	1.94%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8429	$17464
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$3565	$7981
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$3.03	$5.72
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$115	$109
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$18.6	$44.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.99	$2.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.17	$2.23
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.61	$3.89
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.22	$3.75
🥚 Eggs, x12	$5.43	$9.3
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.9	$24.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.9	$27.2
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$19.7	$43
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.8	$4.42
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.3	$2.98
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.02	$3.72
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.56	$4.77
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.74	$3.1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.62	$2.45
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.66	$0.95
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.62	$3.45
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$17.5	$17.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$4.52	$2.86
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.6	$12
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.34	$20.8
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.75	$5.41
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$4.31	$5.19
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.57	$3.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$113	$82.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$16.5	$24.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$196	$149
💇 Haircut, simple	$35.5	$55.4
👖 Brand Jeans	$70	$136
👟 Brand Sneakers	$116	$154
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1892	$2480
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$24903	$26431

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Washington

Distance	City	Cost of living
2.5 km or 1.5 mi	Georgetown	$3031
9.5 km or 5.9 mi	Bailey's Crossroads	$2572
10 km or 6.3 mi	Alexandria	$2913
11 km or 6.8 mi	Bethesda	$2769
12 km or 7.5 mi	Silver Spring	$2223
15 km or 9.2 mi	College Park	$3016
17 km or 11 mi	Springfield	$2367
17 km or 11 mi	Greenbelt	$2774
23 km or 14 mi	Rockville	$2678
24 km or 15 mi	Fairfax	$2803
26 km or 16 mi	Bowie	$2596
27 km or 17 mi	Laurel	$2377
28 km or 17 mi	Reston	$2801
30 km or 19 mi	Waldorf	$2508
31 km or 19 mi	Gaithersburg	$2512
32 km or 20 mi	Herndon	$2799
34 km or 21 mi	Woodbridge	$2696
34 km or 21 mi	Marumsco	$2608
36 km or 22 mi	Centreville	$3338
37 km or 23 mi	Germantown	$2695
38 km or 23 mi	Columbia	$2856
41 km or 26 mi	Manassas	$2379
42 km or 26 mi	Ashburn	$2793
47 km or 29 mi	Annapolis	$2862
49 km or 31 mi	Catonsville	$2484
51 km or 32 mi	Leesburg	$2341
57 km or 35 mi	Eldersburg	$2554
57 km or 35 mi	Baltimore	$2224
61 km or 38 mi	Owings Mills	$2603
68 km or 42 mi	Frederick	$2318
76 km or 47 mi	Fredericksburg	$2363
83 km or 52 mi	Charles Town	$1977
87 km or 54 mi	Edgewood	$3012
92 km or 57 mi	Bel Air South	$2787
93 km or 58 mi	Bel Air North	$2694
102 km or 63 mi	Hanover	$2275
102 km or 63 mi	Hagerstown	$2037
103 km or 64 mi	Winchester	$2252
106 km or 66 mi	Waynesboro	$2109
122 km or 76 mi	York	$2088

Cities near Zurich

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Altstetten	$3514
6.4 km or 4 mi	Dubendorf	$3281
11 km or 6.6 mi	Dietikon	$3348
14 km or 8.6 mi	Horgen	$3492
14 km or 8.6 mi	Uster	$3239
16 km or 9.7 mi	Bulach	$3231
19 km or 12 mi	Wettingen	$3264
19 km or 12 mi	Wadenswil	$3441
19 km or 12 mi	Winterthur	$3267
20 km or 13 mi	Wetzikon	$3240
20 km or 13 mi	Baden	$3312
20 km or 13 mi	Baar	$3519
23 km or 15 mi	Zug	$4491
28 km or 17 mi	Rapperswil-Jona	$3286
33 km or 21 mi	Frauenfeld	$2641
36 km or 22 mi	Schaffhausen	$2611
37 km or 23 mi	Waldshut-Tiengen	$1679
37 km or 23 mi	Aarau	$2644
38 km or 24 mi	Emmen	$3288
40 km or 25 mi	Wil	$2638
40 km or 25 mi	Lucerne	$3321
43 km or 27 mi	Kriens	$3199
48 km or 30 mi	Singen	$1703
51 km or 32 mi	Radolfzell	$1751
56 km or 35 mi	Kreuzlingen	$2986
57 km or 36 mi	Konstanz	$1807
60 km or 37 mi	Rheinfelden	$1695
63 km or 39 mi	St. Gallen	$3120
63 km or 39 mi	Uberlingen	$1784
64 km or 40 mi	Donaueschingen	$1533
70 km or 44 mi	Riehen	$3587
71 km or 44 mi	Tuttlingen	$1582
71 km or 44 mi	Lorrach	$1700
74 km or 46 mi	Weil am Rhein	$1700
74 km or 46 mi	Basel	$3034
76 km or 47 mi	Villingen-Schwenningen	$1385
77 km or 48 mi	Saint-Louis	$1507
77 km or 48 mi	Friedrichshafen	$2091
77 km or 48 mi	Schaan	$2459
78 km or 48 mi	Allschwil	$3117