Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Indiana Cost of Living Summary
California is 48.7% more expensive than Indiana.
California vs. Indiana Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Indiana, you would:
pay 31.4% more for restaurants
|
Indiana
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.74
|
$22.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.13
|
$12.78
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.92
|
$2.26
|
|
Indiana vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.6% more for groceries
|
Indiana
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.64
|
$4.33
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.54
|
$7.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.99
|
$4.92
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.21
|
$5.18
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.97
|
$6.10
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$2.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
|
$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.88
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.87
|
$2.60
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.13
|
$1.61
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$1.39
|
|
Indiana vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 36.0% more for transportation
|
Indiana
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.43
|
$5.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$39.81
|
$64.45
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,690.95
|
$35,604.61
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.98
|
$20.97
|
|
Indiana vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 80.2% more for housing
|
Indiana
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.01
|
$69.16
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,239.41
|
$2,414.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,011.72
|
$2,061.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$138.25
|
$172.98
|
|
Indiana vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 54.1% more for childcare
|
Indiana
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,136.10
|
$1,659.26
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$18,895.61
|
$30,706.19
|
|
Indiana vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 41.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Indiana
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.07
|
$7.15
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.67
|
$5.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.92
|
$11.42
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$33.49
|
$65.06
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.33
|
$15.07
|
|
Indiana vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.7% more for clothing
|
Indiana
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$47.89
|
$58.89
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$36.48
|
$43.96
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.48
|
$91.63
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$110.40
|
$130.37
|
|
Indiana vs. California - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Indiana vs. California
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in California?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics
Be 88.9% more likely to be unemployed in California
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Indiana is about 4.3 times smaller than California.
→
Moving from Indiana to California · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Indianapolis vs Los Angeles
→
Explore more U.S. state comparisons
See how other U.S. states compare.
Browse all state comparisons.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about California or Indiana. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.