Clinton’s Arkansas Entourage Facing ‘Sticker Shock’ in Move to Washington, D.C.

Even President-elect Clinton won’t be immune to the Washington area’s high cost of living when he moves his family--and their pet cat, Socks--to the nation’s capital in January.

A 6-ounce can of cat food for Socks will run about 59 cents in Washington. He can get two cans of the same food for 79 cents back home in Little Rock, Ark.

The cost of living in the Washington area is about 30% higher than the national average, according to Facts About the Cities, a book of municipal statistics compiled by Allan Carpenter. Living costs in the Arkansas capital, on the other hand, are nearly 6% lower.

Arkansans moving here probably will experience the biggest “sticker shock” when they price housing, according to Damon Thompson, press secretary for Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.).

“When I left Little Rock 10 years ago, I was living in a two-room apartment renting for $250,” he said. “When I moved here, I was paying $295 for one room in a three-bedroom group house. It’s only gotten worse since then.”

The National Assn. of Home Builders says the median price of a single-family home in the Washington metropolitan area last fall was $150,000, nearly 80% more than the $84,000 median cost in Little Rock.

The median means that half of the houses cost more and half cost less.

Facts About the Cities shows that the median rent in the Washington area was $441 two years ago, compared to $318 in Little Rock.

Clinton of course won’t have to pay for his housing or his travel, but he will have to pay for food for family meals, clothing and other incidentals.

The cost of groceries in the Washington area is more than 7% above the national average, according to Facts About the Cities. In Little Rock, it’s nearly 5% less.

A spot check found a choice grade porterhouse steak priced at $7.39 a pound at a Washington grocery store recently. It cost $5.39 a pound in the Arkansas capital the same day.

Campaign workers used to grabbing a sandwich on the run would find an 18-ounce jar of peanut butter that cost $2.39 in Little Rock selling for $3.29 here that day.

Eating out likely will cost more too.

“An expensive restaurant in Little Rook probably is comparable to a moderate restaurant here,” said Joyce Kravitz, a longtime Washington resident who spent three months in Little Rock during the campaign.

“A movie there is about $5 or $6,” said Kravitz, who now works in the press office of the Clinton Inaugural Committee. “A movie here runs about $7.”

Fans of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks eager to see a professional football game will find that Washington Redskins tickets range between $30 and $45 each.

But even if they could afford a ticket, they couldn’t buy one at the stadium ticket office. The games have been sold out since 1966.

“There’s a waiting list of over 40,000 people,” said Redskins publicist Charlie Dayton. “It would be a long shot” for a member of the incoming Administration to be able to buy a ticket during Clinton’s presidency.

There’s a sizable difference in the cost of driving as well. According to a late November survey by the American Automobile Assn., a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline at a self-serve pump cost $1.19 in the Washington metropolitan area. It cost $1.08 in Arkansas.

A reporter covering the presidential transition found that a parking ticket in Little Rock cost only $5. Fines for illegally parking in Washington can run up to $100.

Per capita property taxes in the Washington area are much higher--$1,151.97 compared to $59.84 in the Arkansas capital.