Cost of living comparison
compared to
Norway vs. California Cost of Living Summary
Norway is 14.9% cheaper than California.
Norway vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Norway instead of California, you would:
pay 13.6% more for restaurants
|
California
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.31
|
$22.46
NOK214.62
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.78
|
$15.20
NOK145.25
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$3.98
NOK38.08
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$3.16
NOK30.24
|
|
California vs. Norway - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.8% less for groceries
|
California
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.33
|
$3.73
NOK35.66
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.51
|
$6.51
NOK62.21
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.92
|
$9.11
NOK87.06
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.18
|
$5.06
NOK48.39
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.10
|
$6.95
NOK66.40
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.32
|
$1.62
NOK15.45
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$1.22
NOK11.66
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.02
|
$1.65
NOK15.79
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.31
NOK22.11
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.61
|
$1.20
NOK11.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.39
|
$1.34
NOK12.79
|
|
California vs. Norway - Cost of groceries
pay 35.5% more for transportation
|
California
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.53
|
$8.73
NOK83.43
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$64.45
|
$78.63
NOK751.41
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,604.61
|
$45,459.95
NOK434K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.97
|
$25.74
NOK245.94
|
|
California vs. Norway - Cost of transportation
pay 38.7% less for housing
|
California
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.16
|
$65.87
NOK629.49
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,414.89
|
$1,278.72
NOK12,220.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,061.17
|
$1,052.00
NOK10,053.45
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$172.98
|
$221.33
NOK2,115.10
|
|
California vs. Norway - Cost of housing
pay 77.9% less for childcare
|
California
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,659.26
|
$256.93
NOK2,455.35
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,706.19
|
$9,715.88
NOK92,849.82
|
|
California vs. Norway - Cost of childcare
pay 12.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.15
|
$11.32
NOK108.21
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.63
|
$5.55
NOK53.04
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.42
|
$16.96
NOK162.10
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$65.06
|
$53.57
NOK511.94
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.07
|
$17.67
NOK168.90
|
|
California vs. Norway - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 39.0% more for clothing
|
California
|
Norway
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.89
|
$102.56
NOK980.12
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.96
|
$56.21
NOK537.13
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.63
|
$125.90
NOK1,203.14
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.37
|
$159.02
NOK1,519.70
|
|
California vs. Norway - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: California vs. Norway
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Norway?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 2 statistics
Make 12.6% more money in Norway
→
Size Comparison · See true size
California is about 1.2 times bigger than Norway.
→
Moving from California to Norway · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Sacramento vs Oslo
→
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in United States vs. Norway.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United States and Norway.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Norway or California. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.