Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary
Santa Monica is 32.7% more expensive than Hong Kong.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.2 times more in Santa Monica
- Groceries
-
pay 19.3% more in Santa Monica
- Transportation
-
pay 17.1% less in Santa Monica
- Housing
-
pay 70.9% more in Santa Monica
- Childcare
-
pay 18.6% more in Santa Monica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.5% more in Santa Monica
- Clothing
-
pay 0.3% more in Santa Monica
The cost of restaurants, housing, groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Santa Monica are more expensive than in Hong Kong. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Monica instead of Hong Kong, you would:
pay 2.2 times more for restaurants
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
|
$12.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.39
HK$10.81
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.11
HK$8.66
|
$2.00
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Monica - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.3% more for groceries
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.19
HK$17.06
|
$4.41
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$12.44
HK$96.86
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$11.75
HK$91.46
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
HK$27.37
|
$5.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.85
HK$37.76
|
$6.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.57
HK$12.19
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.09
HK$8.46
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.62
HK$12.63
|
$1.84
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.39
HK$10.79
|
$2.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.10
HK$8.56
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.06
HK$8.25
|
$1.22
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Monica - Cost of groceries
pay 17.1% less for transportation
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$11.90
HK$92.63
|
$4.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.49
HK$525.40
|
$67.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,564.70
HK$300,226.22
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.53
HK$113.09
|
$18.01
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Monica - Cost of transportation
pay 70.9% more for housing
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$22.19
HK$172.75
|
$69.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,349.29
HK$18,289.20
|
$3,175.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,688.04
HK$13,141.37
|
$2,533.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$177.52
HK$1,382.03
|
$155.53
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Monica - Cost of housing
pay 18.6% more for childcare
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,038.61
HK$8,085.57
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$22,248.89
HK$173,207.58
|
$15,000.00
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Monica - Cost of childcare
pay 13.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.48
HK$50.47
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.23
HK$40.72
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.11
HK$102.08
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$79.18
HK$616.38
|
$90.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.85
HK$100.08
|
$18.00
|
|
Hong Kong vs. Santa Monica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.3% more for clothing
|
Hong Kong
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$74.06
HK$576.58
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.18
HK$328.34
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.97
HK$716.02
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$142.80
HK$1,111.66
|
$149.85
|
|
Hong Kong 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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