Cost of Living in Vancouver, WA, United States

RESTAURANTS

Eating out will cost you anywhere from 7$-30$ per meal.

Expect to spend around 375$-500$ if you eat out occasionally.

One big thing about Vancouver: alcohol is expensive.

A drink, while not on happy hours, can cost 6/7$ per 16oz pint.

However, there are still good old trusty fast-food chain restaurants where you can eat for a couple of dollars.

MARKETS

Vancouver Farmers Market is open from March through October and offers a great selection of naturally grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs, local natural meats, seafood, and dairy products.

Groceries will cost you 300$–400$ per month for an individual or 500$–600$ a month for a couple.

There are a lot of great deals.

Usually prices in small corner stores are better than many grocery stores.

TRANSPORTATION

C-TRAN is Clark County’s public bus system but it’s really badly organized and doesn’t cover the whole city.

Your best bet here is to drive a car, though gas prices are a bit expensive.

You can hail any taxi you see in the street with the green light on.

Many people living here don’t even use public transport and their transport costs are down to zero – they just go on foot.

UTILITIES (MONTHLY)

As far as utilities go, electricity is still pretty cheap.

Depending on the size of your apartment, monthly utilities, including heating, cooling, electricity, and gas could cost between 100$ and 250$ a month.

However, for an apartment of about 85m2, your bills would amount to 145$.

Internet is expensive as well, amounting up to around 71$ a month.

SPORTS & LEISURE

There are places to hike and lots of nice short trails all over Vancouver, so you won’t have to spend a bunch of money on gyms or fitness clubs.

Though the city is not necessarily bike-friendly, you can go further away from the center and enjoy the nature there.

If you prefer indoor spaces, a gym membership will probably cost you around 48$ a month which is very reasonable, if not cheap.

CLOTHING & SHOES

Westfield Vancouver Shopping Center offers a variety of stores including large department stores like Nordstrom, Macy’s, Sears, and JCPenney.

There are over 120 stores, and the prices are relatively low – quality jeans cost around 52$, while summer dresses and shirts are around 50$.

Quality sneakers are more expensive, standing at around 90$.

RENT PER MONTH

Rent will probably eat up around 40-50% of your expenses.

It depends on the area where you’re trying to rent.

In Downtown Vancouver, you can find a reasonably sized apartment for no less than $1,200 if your lucky.

It may cost $2500–4000 per month for a larger apartment.

That said, you can still find really good deals if you search hard enough.