Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Alabama Cost of Living Summary
California is 40.4% more expensive than Alabama.
- Restaurants
-
pay 25.6% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 20.0% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 31.1% more in California
- Housing
-
pay 74.4% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 71.2% more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 39.8% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 20.6% more in California
The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, and clothing in California are more expensive than in Alabama.
California vs. Alabama Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Alabama, you would:
pay 25.6% more for restaurants
|
Alabama
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.75
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.36
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.85
|
$2.17
|
|
Alabama vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.0% more for groceries
|
Alabama
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.26
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.23
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.69
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.58
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.89
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.45
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.76
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.41
|
|
Alabama vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 31.1% more for transportation
|
Alabama
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.84
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.00
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,098.54
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.41
|
$21.43
|
|
Alabama vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 74.4% more for housing
|
Alabama
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.63
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,036.37
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$847.06
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$144.14
|
$171.94
|
|
Alabama vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 71.2% more for childcare
|
Alabama
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,146.13
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,177.33
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Alabama vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 39.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Alabama
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.96
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.95
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.76
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$41.81
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.07
|
$14.99
|
|
Alabama vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.6% more for clothing
|
Alabama
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$39.67
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.87
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$79.77
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.17
|
$119.94
|
|
Alabama vs. California - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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