Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santa Barbara vs. Dublin Cost of Living Summary

Santa Barbara is 24.0% more expensive than Dublin.

Restaurants
pay 3.2% more in Santa Barbara
Groceries
pay 47.7% more in Santa Barbara
Transportation
pay 26.6% less in Santa Barbara
Housing
pay 12.9% more in Santa Barbara
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in Santa Barbara
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.0% less in Santa Barbara
Clothing
pay 16.7% less in Santa Barbara

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

Santa Barbara vs. Dublin Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.2% more for restaurants

 
Dublin
Santa Barbara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $25.69
€22.16
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$13.14
€11.33
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.76
€2.38
$2.67
 

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pay 47.7% more for groceries

 
Dublin
Santa Barbara
Bread
1 loaf
$2.18
€1.88
$4.40
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.43
€5.54
$12.68
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.77
€5.84
$5.25
 

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pay 26.6% less for transportation

 
Dublin
Santa Barbara
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.79
€6.71
$4.73
 
Monthly public transit pass $110.95
€95.68
$52.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $42,559.40
€36,700.12
$28,500.00
 

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pay 12.9% more for housing

 
Dublin
Santa Barbara
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$56.79
€48.97
$74.25
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,406.85
€2,075.49
$2,720.83
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $2,011.21
€1,734.32
$2,538.89
 

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Dublin
Santa Barbara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,324.27
€1,141.96
$1,425.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,401.84
€8,107.46
$37,000.00
 

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pay 3.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Dublin
Santa Barbara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.18
€7.05
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.77
€4.11
$6.14
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$21.02
€18.13
$11.82
 

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pay 16.7% less for clothing

 
Dublin
Santa Barbara
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$108.66
€93.70
$69.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$50.22
€43.31
$40.75
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$114.78
€98.98
$77.00
 

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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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