Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Austin Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 27.6% more expensive than Austin.
- Restaurants
-
pay 18.6% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 14.8% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 42.3% more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 48.4% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 30.2% more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.0% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 19.2% more in San Diego
The cost of housing, transportation, childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants in San Diego are more expensive than in Austin.
San Diego vs. Austin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Austin, you would:
pay 18.6% more for restaurants
|
Austin
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.09
|
$2.50
|
|
Austin vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.8% more for groceries
|
Austin
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.40
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.17
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.93
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.85
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.15
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.70
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.24
|
$1.12
|
|
Austin vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 42.3% more for transportation
|
Austin
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.79
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.38
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,900.00
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.67
|
$19.40
|
|
Austin vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 48.4% more for housing
|
Austin
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.20
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,134.75
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,434.41
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$133.86
|
$205.84
|
|
Austin vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 30.2% more for childcare
|
Austin
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,343.18
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,093.75
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Austin vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 20.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Austin
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.56
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.33
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$17.50
|
|
Austin vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.2% more for clothing
|
Austin
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.74
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.79
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.55
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$117.47
|
$126.25
|
|
Austin 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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