Cost of Living in Washington D.C., 🇺🇸 United States - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 2 26 27 $3,350 $2,186 $3,400 $1,920 $215

Utilities 1 25 — $150 $206 $136 —

Internet & Mobile 5 6 9 1 $45 $113 $200 $113 $5

Groceries 1 10 13 $155 $545 $1,120 $410 $12

Transportation 1 3 4 $262 $165 $680 $115 $38

Dining Out 15 16 1 $1,320 $590 $850 $220 $95

Leisure Activities 1 18 $440 $340 $4,450 $125 $45

Health Insurance 7 19 $63 $480 $1,220 $390 —

Visa & Legal Fees 20 — $50 $50 — —

Total $5,635 $4,619 $12,176 $3,429 $410

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 2 $2,186.00 $1,850 – $2,374 per month

Coworking Space 8 $249.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 1 2 $3,400.00 $2,600 – $4,200 per month

Coliving Space 27 1 $1,500.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 16 1 $6.10 per cup

Beer 17 1 $8.68 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 15 1 $22.90 per meal

Fast Food Combo 15 1 $12.00 per meal

Apples 13 1 $5.80 per kg

Bread 14 1 $3.61 per loaf

Milk 10 1 $1.09 per liter

Rice 17 1 $6.22 per kg

Chicken Fillets 10 13 1 $15.90 per kg

Beef 13 1 $19.70 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 17 1 $17.50 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 1 $101.00 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 1 $2.49 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 4 $4.00 per trip

Taxi per km 4 $1.59 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 1 3 $115.00 per month

Gasoline 11 12 $1.15 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 4 1 $12.50 per trip

Scooter Rental 24 $8.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 5 6 $45.00 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 9 $68.00 per month

Gym Membership 1 30 $113.00 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 1 $28.00 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 5 $45.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 1 23 $16.50 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 28 1 $70.00 per pair

Summer Dress 29 1 $58.00 per dress

Running Shoes 31 1 $116.00 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 22 1 $35.50 per visit

Laundry 1 $4.00 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 21 1 $177.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 1 $10.00 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Hanoi, London

Livingcost Washington DC groceries, meals, rents, transport Oct 2026Index
Zumper DC 1-bedroom USD 2,186; median USD 2,494 Oct 2026Listings
WMATA monthly unlimited rail+bus pass USD 72–216Official
DC taximeter USD 4.00 first 1/8 mi; USD 2.56/mile; USD 1 fuel surchargeOfficial
T-Mobile prepaid unlimited USD 45/mo with AutoPayOfficial
Visible unlimited USD 25/moOfficial
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
Carr Workplaces DC open desk USD 249/mo Home BaseListings
Xfinity 300 Mbps from USD 45/mo (DC service area)Official
USDA ERS/BLS retail chicken breast USD 4.203/lb Sept 2026Official
AAA District of Columbia regular gasoline USD 4.3569/gal Oct 2026Index
EIA US regular gasoline USD 3.860/gal week of 19 Oct 2026Official
Lowtein DC flyer meat/dairy/produce at ALDI, Giant, Safeway Oct 2026Shop
BLS CPI average prices Sept 2026 bread USD 1.83/lbOfficial
McDonald's Big Mac Meal USD 10.49; Quarter Pounder Meal USD 11.19Secondary
Starbucks Caffè Latte USD 5.85; Iced Latte USD 6.25Secondary
Giant Food via Instacart DC-area grocery shelf pricesListings
DC international school tuition bands 2026/27Secondary
KFF 2025 employer single premium benchmarkSecondary
CBP ESTA programme for Visa Waiver travellersOfficial
MDsave Washington DC new-patient PCP USD 104–160Listings
Fresha Washington men's haircuts USD 20–50 at listed salonsListings
AMC Uehara West End 9 Washington DC ticketingOfficial
Capital Bikeshare classic bike USD 1 unlock; day passesOfficial
DC utility estimate Pepco plus DC Water USD 434.99/mo at 1,000 kWhSecondary
Mid-range Washington DC hotels Oct 2026Secondary
Zumper DC furnished rooms and shared rentals Oct 2026Listings
Target Levi's 501 jeans USD 52.49 sale / USD 74.99 listListings
Target Wild Fable summer dress USD 16.50 clearanceListings
YMCA of Metropolitan Washington membership tiersOfficial
Target running shoes USD 40–140 Oct 2026Listings

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 4800 3400
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 2650 2186
- Beef 21 19.7
- Beer 9 8.68
- Bread 4.25 3.61
37 more changes
- Chicken Fillets 16.5 15.9
- Cinema Ticket 18 16.5
- Coffee 5.75 6.1
- Coliving Space 1750 1500
- Coworking Space 425 249
- Dining Out local 250, nomad 1600, expat 550, family 800, tourist 95 local 220, nomad 1320, expat 590, family 850, tourist 95
- Doctor Visit (GP) 165 177
- Fast Food Combo 13.5 12
- Groceries local 450, nomad 250, expat 600, family 1350, tourist 15 local 410, nomad 155, expat 545, family 1120, tourist 12
- Gym Membership 110 113
- Haircut 45 35.5
- Health Insurance local 350, nomad 75, expat 450, family 1200, tourist 0 local 390, nomad 63, expat 480, family 1220, tourist 0
- Housing local 1750, nomad 3400, expat 2400, family 4100, tourist 210 local 1920, nomad 3350, expat 2186, family 3400, tourist 215
- Internet & Mobile local 95, nomad 85, expat 130, family 220, tourist 8 local 113, nomad 45, family 200, tourist 5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 85 68
- Jeans 65 70
- Laundry 30 4
- Leisure Activities local 150, nomad 550, expat 350, family 600, tourist 40 local 125, nomad 440, expat 340, family 4450, tourist 45
- Meal (Inexpensive) 22 22.9
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 110 101
- Milk 1.35 1.09
- Mobile Plan 65 45
- Monthly Transport Pass 120 115
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 14 10
- Rice 5.5 6.22
- Ride-hailing (5km) 18 12.5
- Running Shoes 115 116
- Scooter Rental 8.5 8
- Summer Dress 55 58
- Taxi Start 3.5 4
- Taxi per km 1.68 1.59
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 35 28
- Transportation local 120, nomad 180, expat 150, family 650, tourist 35 local 115, nomad 262, expat 165, family 680, tourist 38
- Utilities local 160, nomad 0, expat 210, family 380, tourist 0 local 136, nomad 0, expat 150, family 206, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 50, family 100 local 0, expat 50, family 50
- Water (1.5L bottle) 2.75 2.49
- Wine (Mid-range) 20 17.5
**Milk (local)** moved to USDA retail whole milk **USD 4.106/gal** Sept 2026 per-litre conversion (ers.usda.gov, livingcost.org)

Washington D.C. cost of living