Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Lebanon Cost of Living Summary
California is 2.1 times more expensive than Lebanon overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 96.7% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 2.2 times more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 4.2% less in California
- Housing
-
pay 3.5 times more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 3.3 times more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 45.2% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 13.6% less in California
The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in California are more expensive than in Lebanon. Expenses including clothing and transportation are lower in California. Notably, housing, childcare, and groceries are significantly more expensive in California.
California vs. Lebanon Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Lebanon, you would:
pay 96.7% more for restaurants
|
Lebanon
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.50
LBP761K
|
$22.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.50
LBP851K
|
$12.78
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.91
LBP171K
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.87
LBP78,117
|
$2.26
|
|
Lebanon vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.2 times more for groceries
|
Lebanon
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.85
LBP75,884
|
$4.33
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.54
LBP496K
|
$7.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.12
LBP548K
|
$4.92
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.38
LBP214K
|
$5.18
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.88
LBP347K
|
$6.10
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.39
LBP124K
|
$2.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
LBP68,248
|
$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.75
LBP66,948
|
$2.02
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.45
LBP40,624
|
$2.60
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.42
LBP37,273
|
$1.61
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
LBP63,838
|
$1.39
|
|
Lebanon vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 4.2% less for transportation
|
Lebanon
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.04
LBP362K
|
$5.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
LBP7M
|
$64.45
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$53,500.00
LBP5B
|
$35,604.61
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.00
LBP2M
|
$20.97
|
|
Lebanon vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 3.5 times more for housing
|
Lebanon
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$30.24
LBP3M
|
$69.16
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$671.90
LBP60M
|
$2,414.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$348.30
LBP31M
|
$2,061.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$177.50
LBP16M
|
$172.98
|
|
Lebanon vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 3.3 times more for childcare
|
Lebanon
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$681.75
LBP61M
|
$1,659.26
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$7,021.88
LBP629M
|
$30,706.19
|
|
Lebanon vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 45.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lebanon
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
LBP448K
|
$7.15
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.27
LBP382K
|
$5.63
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.00
LBP269K
|
$11.42
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.50
LBP6M
|
$65.06
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.00
LBP896K
|
$15.07
|
|
Lebanon vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.6% less for clothing
|
Lebanon
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.62
LBP6M
|
$58.89
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.29
LBP4M
|
$43.96
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$138.89
LBP12M
|
$91.63
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$120.00
LBP11M
|
$130.37
|
|
Lebanon 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
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