Cost of Living

Bestplaces.com calculates the overall cost of living for Washington, North Carolina at 84% of the U.S. average cost of living.

Calculation Criteria

Bestplaces.com calculates the total of all the cost of living for Washington, North Carolina and other U.S. locations based on the following categories weighted subjectively:

• Housing (30%)
• Food and groceries (15%)
• Transportation (10%)
• Utilities (6%)
• Health care (7%)
• Miscellaneous expenses such as clothing, services and entertainment (32%)

State and local taxes are not included in any category (updated December 2016).

Cost of Living Comparison: Washington, North Carolina to U.S. Average

• The average cost of food calculated from prices in grocery stores in an area.
• The average cost of health care calculated using the standard daily rate for a hospital room and the costs of a doctor's office visit and a dental checkup.
• The average cost of an area's housing, which includes mortgage payments, apartment rents and property tax. 
• The utilities estimate is based on the average cost of heating or cooling a typical residence for the area, including electricity and natural gas. 
• The transportation estimate is based on the average cost of gasoline, car insurance and maintenance expenses and mass transit fare for the area.  The cost of the vehicle and any vehicle registration and license taxes are not included.
• The miscellaneous cost index is of those goods and services not included in the other cost of living categories, such as clothing, restaurants, repairs, entertainment and other services.