Cost of living comparison

Netherlands

compared to

United States

Palo Alto vs. Amsterdam Cost of Living Summary

Palo Alto is 18.2% more expensive than Amsterdam.

Restaurants: pay 8.9% less in Palo Alto
Groceries: pay 64.1% more in Palo Alto
Transportation: pay 31.6% less in Palo Alto
Housing: pay 26.3% more in Palo Alto
Childcare: pay 53.1% more in Palo Alto
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.3% more in Palo Alto
Clothing: pay 23.9% less in Palo Alto

The cost of groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing in Palo Alto are more expensive than in Amsterdam. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Palo Alto.

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Palo Alto vs. Amsterdam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palo Alto instead of Amsterdam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 8.9% less for restaurants

	Amsterdam	Palo Alto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$23.36 €20.42	$30.00	+28.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$16.35 €14.30	$12.00	-26.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.72 €3.26	$3.30	-11.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.28 €2.87	$2.44	-25.8%
Average			-8.9%

Amsterdam vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants

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pay 64.1% more for groceries

	Amsterdam	Palo Alto
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 €2.37	$5.06	+86.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.72 €6.75	$11.39	+47.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.24 €5.46	$5.85	-6.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.27 €4.61	$6.26	+18.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.35 €5.55	$6.63	+4.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 €1.24	$3.22	+127.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.18 €1.03	$1.18	-0.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 €0.91	$2.37	+127.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.09 €1.83	$3.01	+43.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 €0.82	$1.94	+106.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.88 €0.77	$2.19	+149.3%
Average			+64.1%

Amsterdam vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.6% less for transportation

	Amsterdam	Palo Alto
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.77 €7.67	$4.84	-44.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$116.79 €102.12	$90.00	-22.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,381.38 €38,805.08	$36,753.89	-17.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$32.69 €28.58	$19.06	-41.7%
Average			-31.6%

Amsterdam vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.3% more for housing

	Amsterdam	Palo Alto
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.20 €45.64	$68.78	+31.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,488.65 €2,175.96	$3,600.00	+44.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,040.62 €1,784.22	$3,148.75	+54.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$241.43 €211.09	$179.63	-25.6%
Average			+26.3%

Amsterdam vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing

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pay 53.1% more for childcare

	Amsterdam	Palo Alto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,924.24 €2,556.83	$2,823.00	-3.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,029.43 €17,512.83	$42,000.00	+109.7%
Average			+53.1%

Amsterdam vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Amsterdam	Palo Alto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.59 €6.64	$8.00	+5.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.05 €4.41	$5.83	+15.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.60 €12.76	$11.50	-21.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.91 €51.51	$206.33	+250.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.52 €15.32	$16.00	-8.7%
Average			+48.3%

Amsterdam vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.9% less for clothing

	Amsterdam	Palo Alto
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$98.80 €86.39	$67.50	-31.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.66 €46.91	$46.00	-14.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$127.18 €111.20	$88.89	-30.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$154.92 €135.46	$125.00	-19.3%
Average			-23.9%

Amsterdam vs. Palo Alto - Cost of clothing

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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: July 2026

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