Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. California Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 6.6% cheaper than California.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.8% less in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 32.5% less in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 33.0% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 24.1% less in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 21.2% less in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.7% more in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 13.7% more in United Kingdom
The cost of transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports in United Kingdom are more expensive than in California. Expenses including groceries, housing, childcare, and restaurants are lower in United Kingdom.
United Kingdom vs. California Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of California, you would:
pay 16.8% less for restaurants
|
California
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.84
|
$20.41
£15.51
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.33
|
$9.94
£7.55
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.32
£1.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$1.65
£1.25
|
|
California vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 32.5% less for groceries
|
California
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.20
|
$1.59
£1.21
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.77
|
$4.71
£3.58
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$6.20
£4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.14
|
$3.87
£2.94
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.05
|
$3.87
£2.94
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.30
|
$1.32
£1.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.73
£0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$1.28
£0.97
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$1.49
£1.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.72
£0.55
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$0.71
£0.54
|
|
California vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 33.0% more for transportation
|
California
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.72
|
$7.22
£5.49
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$63.04
|
$99.05
£75.26
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,529.84
|
$36,224.29
£27,526.04
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.43
|
$22.08
£16.78
|
|
California vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 24.1% less for housing
|
California
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.96
|
$41.90
£31.84
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,385.40
|
$1,285.79
£977.05
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,043.56
|
$1,062.09
£807.06
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$171.94
|
$233.57
£177.49
|
|
California vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 21.2% less for childcare
|
California
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,633.13
|
$1,530.71
£1,163.16
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,339.97
|
$19,375.12
£14,722.73
|
|
California vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 1.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
California
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.31
|
$6.35
£4.82
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.58
|
$4.54
£3.45
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.92
|
$19.18
£14.57
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$68.02
|
$49.26
£37.43
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.99
|
$13.88
£10.55
|
|
California vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.7% more for clothing
|
California
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.47
|
$86.00
£65.35
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.47
|
$44.20
£33.59
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.50
|
$95.21
£72.35
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$119.94
|
$101.36
£77.02
|
|
California vs. United Kingdom - 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: November 2025
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