2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Palo Alto, CA vs Bethesda, MD

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in Bethesda or is it cheaper to live in Palo Alto?
- Bethesda is 40.0% less expensive than Palo Alto.

Which city has more affordable housing, Bethesda or Palo Alto?
- Bethesda housing costs are 68.4% less expensive than Palo Alto housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Palo Alto or is Health Care more affordable in Bethesda.
- Health related expenses are 19.4% less in Bethesda.
 Palo Alto, CABethesda, MDUnited States
 Overall  Unlock138.5100
 Food & Groceries124.4  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock86.8100
 Housing1,139.8  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$1,072,100$338,100
 Utilities90  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock128.8100
 Miscellaneous156.2  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Palo Alto    8 Reviews

The Bay Area in general, but Palo Alto specifically provides many of the qualities sought by many; the climate is beautiful, there is access to cultural and recreational  More

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Over 17 years ago

Very  More

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Over 18 years ago

VTA and SamsTrans and Caltrain all provide good service and most times frequency of service is  More

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Start Your Review of Palo Alto

Reviews for Bethesda    12 Reviews

Bethesda is awesome if you want to live near DC and in a relatively safe city that has few parking issues. Montgomery county has parking lots in downtown Bethesda and  More

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Amenities are plentiful, but costs continue to rise as do local and state taxes. Overall not a friendly place to  More

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Essentially an upscale suburb of Washington DC. Public transport is easy, there's plenty to do (though with none of the edginess of living closer in DC) and it's minutes  More

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Start Your Review of Bethesda


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