Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 18.7% more expensive than Costa Mesa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.7% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 5.2% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 9.3% more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 9.6% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 45.1% more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 22.7% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 30.3% more in San Diego
The cost of childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, and restaurants in San Diego are more expensive than in Costa Mesa.
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Costa Mesa, you would:
pay 8.7% more for restaurants
|
Costa Mesa
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.33
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
|
$2.50
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.2% more for groceries
|
Costa Mesa
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.76
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.32
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.28
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.99
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.74
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.56
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.32
|
$1.12
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 9.3% more for transportation
|
Costa Mesa
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.74
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,999.00
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$19.40
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 9.6% more for housing
|
Costa Mesa
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.33
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,798.67
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,466.67
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$216.33
|
$205.84
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 45.1% more for childcare
|
Costa Mesa
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,206.00
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$28,750.00
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 22.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Costa Mesa
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.00
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.50
|
$17.50
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.3% more for clothing
|
Costa Mesa
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$54.27
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.67
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.25
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.25
|
$126.25
|
|
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego - 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: December 2025
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