Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Barbara vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary
Santa Barbara is 40.3% more expensive than Hong Kong.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.4 times more in Santa Barbara
- Groceries
-
pay 34.2% more in Santa Barbara
- Transportation
-
pay 13.1% less in Santa Barbara
- Housing
-
pay 73.6% more in Santa Barbara
- Childcare
-
pay 51.8% more in Santa Barbara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.4% more in Santa Barbara
- Clothing
-
pay 6.5% less in Santa Barbara
The cost of restaurants, housing, childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Santa Barbara are more expensive than in Hong Kong. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Santa Barbara. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Hong Kong, you would:
pay 2.4 times more for restaurants
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.91
HK$61.55
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.43
HK$50.04
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.39
HK$10.81
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.11
HK$8.66
|
$2.42
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.2% more for groceries
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.19
HK$17.06
|
$4.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$12.44
HK$96.86
|
$12.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$11.75
HK$91.46
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
HK$27.37
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.85
HK$37.76
|
$8.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.57
HK$12.19
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.09
HK$8.46
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.62
HK$12.63
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.39
HK$10.79
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.10
HK$8.56
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.06
HK$8.25
|
$1.36
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries
pay 13.1% less for transportation
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$11.90
HK$92.63
|
$4.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.49
HK$525.40
|
$52.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,564.70
HK$300,226.22
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.53
HK$113.09
|
$22.78
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation
pay 73.6% more for housing
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$22.19
HK$172.75
|
$74.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,349.29
HK$18,289.20
|
$2,720.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,688.04
HK$13,141.37
|
$2,538.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$177.52
HK$1,382.03
|
$166.24
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing
pay 51.8% more for childcare
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,038.61
HK$8,085.57
|
$1,425.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,248.89
HK$173,207.58
|
$37,000.00
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare
pay 2.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.48
HK$50.47
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.23
HK$40.72
|
$6.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.11
HK$102.08
|
$11.82
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$79.18
HK$616.38
|
$66.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.85
HK$100.08
|
$12.50
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.5% less for clothing
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$74.06
HK$576.58
|
$69.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.18
HK$328.34
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.97
HK$716.02
|
$77.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$142.80
HK$1,111.66
|
$143.33
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Barbara - 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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