Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Monica vs. France Cost of Living Summary
Santa Monica is 46.4% more expensive than France overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 11.5% more in Santa Monica
- Groceries
-
pay 26.7% more in Santa Monica
- Transportation
-
pay 9.8% less in Santa Monica
- Housing
-
pay 2.7 times more in Santa Monica
- Childcare
-
pay 86.3% more in Santa Monica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 42.5% more in Santa Monica
- Clothing
-
pay 4.0% less in Santa Monica
The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Santa Monica are more expensive than in France. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Santa Monica. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica vs. France Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Monica instead of France, you would:
pay 11.5% more for restaurants
|
France
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.40
€14.94
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.58
€10.81
|
$12.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.85
€2.45
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.92
€1.65
|
$2.00
|
|
France vs. Santa Monica - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.7% more for groceries
|
France
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.00
€1.72
|
$4.41
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.90
€8.50
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.07
€4.35
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.06
€3.49
|
$5.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.32
€5.42
|
$6.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.38
€1.19
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.89
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
€1.14
|
$1.84
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.53
€1.31
|
$2.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.96
€0.82
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.09
€0.94
|
$1.22
|
|
France vs. Santa Monica - Cost of groceries
pay 9.8% less for transportation
|
France
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.83
€6.73
|
$4.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$55.31
€47.50
|
$67.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,101.00
€30,145.13
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.22
€18.23
|
$18.01
|
|
France vs. Santa Monica - Cost of transportation
pay 2.7 times more for housing
|
France
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$32.49
€27.90
|
$69.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$812.51
€697.79
|
$3,175.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$661.67
€568.25
|
$2,533.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$156.40
€134.32
|
$155.53
|
|
France vs. Santa Monica - Cost of housing
pay 86.3% more for childcare
|
France
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$772.72
€663.62
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,376.63
€8,911.56
|
$15,000.00
|
|
France vs. Santa Monica - Cost of childcare
pay 42.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
France
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
€6.01
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.57
€3.06
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.51
€11.60
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.74
€34.13
|
$90.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.44
€11.54
|
$18.00
|
|
France vs. Santa Monica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.0% less for clothing
|
France
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$95.54
€82.05
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.45
€35.60
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.85
€85.75
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$132.46
€113.76
|
$149.85
|
|
France vs. Santa Monica - 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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