Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santa Barbara vs. Canberra Cost of Living Summary

Santa Barbara is 30.3% more expensive than Canberra.

Restaurants: pay 29.3% more in Santa Barbara
Groceries: pay 48.2% more in Santa Barbara
Transportation: pay 8.0% less in Santa Barbara
Housing: pay 60.3% more in Santa Barbara
Childcare: pay 79.4% more in Santa Barbara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.9% more in Santa Barbara
Clothing: pay 6.8% less in Santa Barbara

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Santa Barbara are more expensive than in Canberra. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Santa Barbara. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara vs. Canberra Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Canberra, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 29.3% more for restaurants

	Canberra	Santa Barbara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.34 A$25.00	$25.00	+53.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.81 A$15.00	$15.00	+53.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.59 A$3.96	$2.67	+3.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.24 A$3.42	$2.42	+8.0%
Average			+29.3%

Canberra vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 48.2% more for groceries

	Canberra	Santa Barbara
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 A$4.14	$4.40	+62.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.99 A$7.63	$12.68	+154.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.50 A$8.41	$5.25	-4.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.31 A$6.60	$5.38	+24.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.17 A$6.38	$8.38	+100.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 A$2.26	$2.90	+95.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.35 A$2.06	$0.74	-44.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.33 A$2.04	$1.75	+31.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 A$2.84	$2.48	+33.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 A$1.55	$1.47	+45.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.04 A$1.59	$1.36	+31.0%
Average			+48.2%

Canberra vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.0% less for transportation

	Canberra	Santa Barbara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.42 A$6.75	$4.73	+7.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$122.90 A$188.01	$52.00	-57.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,041.09 A$44,425.70	$28,500.00	-1.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.93 A$28.95	$22.78	+20.4%
Average			-8.0%

Canberra vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation

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pay 60.3% more for housing

	Canberra	Santa Barbara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.97 A$79.50	$74.25	+42.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,554.45 A$2,377.92	$2,720.83	+75.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,160.39 A$1,775.11	$2,538.89	+118.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$159.03 A$243.28	$166.24	+4.5%
Average			+60.3%

Canberra vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing

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pay 79.4% more for childcare

	Canberra	Santa Barbara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,754.20 A$2,683.50	$1,425.00	-18.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,323.22 A$20,381.24	$37,000.00	+177.7%
Average			+79.4%

Canberra vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Canberra	Santa Barbara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.54 A$10.00	$8.00	+22.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 A$5.21	$6.14	+80.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$31.05 A$47.50	$11.82	-61.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.70 A$89.79	$66.50	+13.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.07 A$20.00	$12.50	-4.4%
Average			+9.9%

Canberra vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.8% less for clothing

	Canberra	Santa Barbara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$69.40 A$106.16	$69.00	-0.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.75 A$88.34	$40.75	-29.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.06 A$143.88	$77.00	-18.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$118.40 A$181.12	$143.33	+21.1%
Average			-6.8%

Canberra vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of clothing

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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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