Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Barbara vs. Chicago Cost of Living Summary
Santa Barbara is 3.6% more expensive than Chicago.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.2% more in Santa Barbara
- Groceries
-
pay 19.5% more in Santa Barbara
- Transportation
-
pay 7.8% more in Santa Barbara
- Housing
-
pay 23.2% more in Santa Barbara
- Childcare
-
pay 17.9% less in Santa Barbara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.6% less in Santa Barbara
- Clothing
-
pay 8.8% less in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara vs. Chicago Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Chicago, you would:
pay 10.2% more for restaurants
|
Chicago
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.96
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.42
|
|
Chicago vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.5% more for groceries
|
Chicago
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.01
|
$4.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.05
|
$12.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.30
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.55
|
$8.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$1.36
|
|
Chicago vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries
pay 7.8% more for transportation
|
Chicago
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.81
|
$4.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$75.00
|
$52.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,691.85
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.43
|
$22.78
|
|
Chicago vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation
pay 23.2% more for housing
|
Chicago
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.83
|
$74.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,418.00
|
$2,720.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,692.50
|
$2,538.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$141.41
|
$166.24
|
|
Chicago vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing
pay 17.9% less for childcare
|
Chicago
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,050.00
|
$1,425.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,114.29
|
$37,000.00
|
|
Chicago vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare
pay 8.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chicago
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$6.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$17.00
|
$11.82
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.80
|
$66.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$12.50
|
|
Chicago vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.8% less for clothing
|
Chicago
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$64.24
|
$69.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.62
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.48
|
$77.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.50
|
$143.33
|
|
Chicago vs. Santa Barbara - 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: October 2026
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