Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Amsterdam Cost of Living Summary
California is 4.7% cheaper than Amsterdam.
California vs. Amsterdam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Amsterdam, you would:
pay 10.7% less for restaurants
|
Amsterdam
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.39
€19.99
|
$22.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.09
€13.47
|
$12.78
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.82
€3.41
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.97
€2.65
|
$2.26
|
|
Amsterdam vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.4% more for groceries
|
Amsterdam
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.32
€2.07
|
$4.33
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.37
€7.47
|
$7.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.83
€5.20
|
$4.92
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.17
€4.61
|
$5.18
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.96
€5.32
|
$6.10
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.25
€1.12
|
$2.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.25
€1.12
|
$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.21
€1.08
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
€1.57
|
$2.60
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
€0.99
|
$1.61
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.75
€0.67
|
$1.39
|
|
Amsterdam vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 34.9% less for transportation
|
Amsterdam
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$9.77
€8.72
|
$5.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$114.21
€101.94
|
$64.45
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,419.02
€36,968.05
|
$35,604.61
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.74
€28.33
|
$20.97
|
|
Amsterdam vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 3.5% less for housing
|
Amsterdam
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$53.22
€47.50
|
$69.16
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,615.70
€2,334.61
|
$2,414.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,951.54
€1,741.82
|
$2,061.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$223.49
€199.47
|
$172.98
|
|
Amsterdam vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 2.7% more for childcare
|
Amsterdam
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,791.00
€2,491.08
|
$1,659.26
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,310.49
€15,450.27
|
$30,706.19
|
|
Amsterdam vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 0.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Amsterdam
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.61
€6.80
|
$7.15
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.55
€4.06
|
$5.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.56
€12.99
|
$11.42
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$59.26
€52.89
|
$65.06
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.80
€14.99
|
$15.07
|
|
Amsterdam vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.5% less for clothing
|
Amsterdam
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.98
€83.88
|
$58.89
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.96
€36.56
|
$43.96
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.66
€88.95
|
$91.63
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$131.49
€117.36
|
$130.37
|
|
Amsterdam vs. California - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Amsterdam vs. California
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cost of living in Netherlands vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Netherlands and United States.
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