Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Honolulu Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 7.2% more expensive than Honolulu.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.3% less in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 22.5% less in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 1.1% less in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 23.1% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 54.5% more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.2% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 8.5% less in San Jose
The cost of childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports in San Jose are more expensive than in Honolulu. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, clothing, and transportation are lower in San Jose.
San Jose vs. Honolulu Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Honolulu, you would:
pay 12.3% less for restaurants
|
Honolulu
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.50
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.63
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.72
|
$2.44
|
|
Honolulu vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.5% less for groceries
|
Honolulu
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$6.58
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$15.27
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.79
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.51
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.58
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.43
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.96
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.72
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.89
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.75
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.31
|
$2.19
|
|
Honolulu vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 1.1% less for transportation
|
Honolulu
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.68
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,265.95
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$24.38
|
$18.41
|
|
Honolulu vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 23.1% more for housing
|
Honolulu
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.46
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,197.86
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,857.69
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.52
|
$221.60
|
|
Honolulu vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 54.5% more for childcare
|
Honolulu
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,633.33
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,440.00
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Honolulu vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 17.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Honolulu
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.46
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.37
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$16.00
|
|
Honolulu vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.5% less for clothing
|
Honolulu
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$57.50
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$55.83
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.00
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.17
|
$125.00
|
|
Honolulu vs. San Jose - 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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