Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Israel Cost of Living Summary
California is 26.5% more expensive than Israel overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.9% less in California
- Groceries
-
pay 42.3% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 5.7% less in California
- Housing
-
pay 80.6% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.4% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 30.6% less in California
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in California are more expensive than in Israel. Expenses including clothing, restaurants, and transportation are lower in California. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in California.
California vs. Israel Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Israel, you would:
pay 8.9% less for restaurants
|
Israel
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.27
₪69.26
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$16.70
₪54.38
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.94
₪9.58
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
₪7.61
|
$2.17
|
|
Israel vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 42.3% more for groceries
|
Israel
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.66
₪8.67
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.17
₪26.59
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.81
₪25.43
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.25
₪13.83
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.14
₪16.75
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.63
₪5.31
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
₪3.47
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.93
₪3.03
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.14
₪3.70
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
₪2.49
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.75
₪2.45
|
$1.41
|
|
Israel vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 5.7% less for transportation
|
Israel
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.15
₪26.53
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$63.78
₪207.65
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$45,327.76
₪147,580.61
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.00
₪45.59
|
$21.43
|
|
Israel vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 80.6% more for housing
|
Israel
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.28
₪98.60
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,182.96
₪3,851.54
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$990.96
₪3,226.43
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$190.46
₪620.13
|
$171.94
|
|
Israel vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Israel
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,022.81
₪3,330.12
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,300.36
₪40,048.19
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Israel vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 4.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Israel
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.92
₪29.06
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.22
₪13.75
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.09
₪36.11
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.05
₪234.58
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.01
₪42.35
|
$14.99
|
|
Israel vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 30.6% less for clothing
|
Israel
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$92.85
₪302.30
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$64.69
₪210.62
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.62
₪409.00
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$142.11
₪462.70
|
$119.94
|
|
Israel 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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