Cost of Living in Washington, DC, United States

RESTAURANTS

Dining out will shock you – it’s really easy to hit 50$-75$ per person even in a casual restaurant.

The people that live here all want to be part of something “important”, which then results in a luxury housing with astronomical prices and trendy (overpriced) restaurants catering to this crowd.

This is why the cost of eating out is more expensive here, with meals in inexpensive restaurants costing 16$.

MARKETS

Groceries are expensive (unless you go to Trader Joe’s).

Interestingly enough, organics aren’t much more expensive than conventional, so if you eat a largely organic diet, you probably won’t find the most shocking.

If you’re used to eggs at 0.99/dozen, brace yourself: in Washington, 4.51/dozen is an insanely good sale.

TRANSPORTATION

Transit is also extremely expensive and unreliable compared to other cities, but how expensive it is depends on where you live.

If you live within the “minimum” fare range from work, the fare is 2.75$ each way, to and from work on Metro rail.

In case you live far out, you might pay almost 6$ each way, just for rail.

If you have to take a bus to get to the rail, that adds even more.

There is no discounted weekly/monthly pass option like in many cities.

UTILITIES (MONTHLY)

Utilities are mildly expensive. While the per-unit (KwH, CCF) rate is much higher than most of the country, homes are smaller and the older ones are well-insulated so your usage will probably be slightly lower, balancing out to just a slight increase.

Those living in a bit bigger apartments (like 85m2) will have to pay bills for all basic utilities that cost around 178$.

SPORTS & LEISURE

Fitness and sports are more expensive in Washington than in other major cities throughout America.

If you want to become a member of a fitness club or a gym in this city, your monthly fee will be around 95$.

If you want to watch a movie here, expect it to cost around 15$.

CLOTHING & SHOES

Potomac Mills is a humongous shopping mall in Woodbridge that contains over 200 stores and it’s where you can do all of your shopping – you’ll surely find anything you want.

Usually, jeans of good quality cost around 60$, quality sneakers around 100$, while lighter pieces of clothing are around 39$.

Watch out for the discounts!

RENT PER MONTH

As of December 2016, the average apartment rent in Washington, DC is 2,466$, which is staggeringly high.

Rent for a one-bedroom in a decent part of DC can run you around 2400$ a month.

That’s around 22,800$ per year just for rent.

If you rent a room in a group house at market rate, you can get anything from a small room for 650$ to a comfortable room for 800$-1000$, depending on the location.