Cost of living comparison
Germany is 19.5% cheaper than California.
If you lived in Germany instead of California, you would:
pay 7.5% less for restaurants
California
|
Germany
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.02
|
$14.04
€13.29
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.52
|
$10.20
€9.65
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.71
|
$2.80
€2.65
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.16
|
$2.41
€2.28
|
|
pay 27.8% less for groceries
California
|
Germany
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.14
|
$2.03
€1.92
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.95
|
$6.71
€6.34
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
|
$4.38
€4.14
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.33
|
$3.41
€3.22
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.70
|
$6.24
€5.90
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$2.34
|
$1.28
€1.21
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.70
€0.66
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$0.97
€0.92
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$2.10
€1.99
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$0.66
€0.63
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$1.44
|
$0.69
€0.65
|
|
pay 10.6% more for transportation
California
|
Germany
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.83
|
$7.07
€6.69
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$62.05
|
$52.96
€50.10
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,005.28
|
$28,807.86
€27,253.07
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.07
|
$23.02
€21.78
|
|
pay 33.0% less for housing
California
|
Germany
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.54
|
$48.22
€45.62
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,371.29
|
$790.39
€747.74
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,055.18
|
$625.27
€591.53
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.68
|
$230.06
€217.65
|
|
pay 66.5% less for childcare
California
|
Germany
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,682.51
|
$458.39
€433.65
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,905.75
|
$12,308.95
€11,644.62
|
|
pay 29.7% less for entertainment and sports
California
|
Germany
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$4.42
€4.18
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.34
|
$3.49
€3.30
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.91
|
$8.74
€8.26
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.35
|
$36.01
€34.06
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.41
|
$12.80
€12.11
|
|
pay 17.6% more for clothing
California
|
Germany
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.77
|
$82.34
€77.89
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.15
|
$40.78
€38.58
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.15
|
$91.59
€86.65
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$117.31
|
$123.43
€116.77
|
|
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