Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Alabama Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 53.5% more expensive than Alabama.
- Restaurants
-
pay 38.1% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 18.9% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 34.0% more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 2.2 times more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 71.1% more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 53.6% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 43.0% more in San Diego
The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, restaurants, and transportation in San Diego are more expensive than in Alabama. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in San Diego.
San Diego vs. Alabama Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Alabama, you would:
pay 38.1% more for restaurants
|
Alabama
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.75
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.36
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.85
|
$2.50
|
|
Alabama vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.9% more for groceries
|
Alabama
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.26
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.23
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.69
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.58
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.89
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.45
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.76
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.33
|
$1.12
|
|
Alabama vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 34.0% more for transportation
|
Alabama
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.84
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.00
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,098.54
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.41
|
$19.40
|
|
Alabama vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 2.2 times more for housing
|
Alabama
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.63
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,036.37
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$847.06
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$144.14
|
$205.84
|
|
Alabama vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 71.1% more for childcare
|
Alabama
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,146.13
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,177.33
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Alabama vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 53.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Alabama
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.96
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.95
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.76
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$41.81
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.07
|
$17.50
|
|
Alabama vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 43.0% more for clothing
|
Alabama
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$39.67
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.87
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$79.77
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.17
|
$126.25
|
|
Alabama vs. San Diego - 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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