Cost of living comparison
compared to
Boulder vs. Berkeley Cost of Living Summary
Boulder is 11.7% cheaper than Berkeley.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.4% more in Boulder
- Groceries
-
pay 27.4% less in Boulder
- Transportation
-
pay 2.4% more in Boulder
- Housing
-
pay 8.9% less in Boulder
- Childcare
-
pay 25.6% less in Boulder
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.7% less in Boulder
- Clothing
-
pay 18.1% less in Boulder
The cost of transportation and restaurants in Boulder are more expensive than in Berkeley. Expenses including groceries, childcare, clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Boulder.
Boulder vs. Berkeley Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Boulder instead of Berkeley, you would:
pay 1.4% more for restaurants
|
Berkeley
|
Boulder
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$3.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.38
|
|
Berkeley vs. Boulder - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.4% less for groceries
|
Berkeley
|
Boulder
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.00
|
$3.61
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$6.61
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$3.82
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.40
|
$5.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$6.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.04
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.21
|
$0.67
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.69
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.16
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.16
|
|
Berkeley vs. Boulder - Cost of groceries
pay 2.4% more for transportation
|
Berkeley
|
Boulder
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$3.08
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$86.50
|
$150.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,029.12
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.41
|
$13.70
|
|
Berkeley vs. Boulder - Cost of transportation
pay 8.9% less for housing
|
Berkeley
|
Boulder
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.13
|
$71.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,200.00
|
$2,100.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,160.00
|
$1,833.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$146.62
|
|
Berkeley vs. Boulder - Cost of housing
pay 25.6% less for childcare
|
Berkeley
|
Boulder
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,158.33
|
$1,546.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,800.00
|
$30,700.00
|
|
Berkeley vs. Boulder - Cost of childcare
pay 5.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Berkeley
|
Boulder
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.25
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.96
|
$5.62
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$70.50
|
$79.22
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$16.50
|
|
Berkeley vs. Boulder - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.1% less for clothing
|
Berkeley
|
Boulder
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$58.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.33
|
$37.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$91.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$103.00
|
|
Berkeley vs. Boulder - 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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