Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Germany Cost of Living Summary
California is 41.6% more expensive than Germany overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.7% less in California
- Groceries
-
pay 42.9% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 15.8% less in California
- Housing
-
pay 93.2% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 2.6 times more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 34.4% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 18.9% less in California
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in California are more expensive than in Germany. Expenses including clothing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in California. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in California.
California vs. Germany Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Germany, you would:
pay 0.7% less for restaurants
|
Germany
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.25
€14.01
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.88
€10.24
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.29
€2.84
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
€2.53
|
$2.17
|
|
Germany vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 42.9% more for groceries
|
Germany
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.25
€1.94
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.39
€6.37
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.79
€4.13
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.84
€3.31
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.58
€5.67
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.45
€1.25
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
€0.71
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.05
€0.91
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.20
€1.90
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
€0.61
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.72
€0.62
|
$1.41
|
|
Germany vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 15.8% less for transportation
|
Germany
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.59
€6.55
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$62.94
€54.28
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,651.13
€27,293.63
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$27.45
€23.67
|
$21.43
|
|
Germany vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 93.2% more for housing
|
Germany
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$48.64
€41.94
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$874.65
€754.23
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$695.68
€599.90
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$258.10
€222.57
|
$171.94
|
|
Germany vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 2.6 times more for childcare
|
Germany
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$497.10
€428.67
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,538.74
€14,261.81
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Germany vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 34.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Germany
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.05
€4.36
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.95
€3.40
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.74
€8.40
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$40.02
€34.51
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.41
€12.42
|
$14.99
|
|
Germany vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.9% less for clothing
|
Germany
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$91.81
€79.17
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.05
€39.71
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.53
€88.42
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.07
€115.61
|
$119.94
|
|
Germany vs. California - 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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