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
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.30
€1.99
|
$2.42
|
|
Dublin vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants
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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
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.43
€3.82
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
€4.67
|
$8.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.38
€1.19
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.21
€1.05
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.55
€2.20
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.93
€0.80
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.75
€0.64
|
$1.36
|
|
Dublin vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries
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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
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.15
€16.52
|
$22.78
|
|
Dublin vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation
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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
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$203.82
€175.76
|
$166.24
|
|
Dublin vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing
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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
|
|
Dublin vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare
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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
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.52
€47.87
|
$66.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.18
€13.09
|
$12.50
|
|
Dublin vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports
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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
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$117.90
€101.67
|
$143.33
|
|
Dublin 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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