Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Cruz vs. London Cost of Living Summary
Santa Cruz is 6.8% more expensive than London.
- Restaurants
-
pay 15.4% more in Santa Cruz
- Groceries
-
pay 80.8% more in Santa Cruz
- Transportation
-
pay 42.8% less in Santa Cruz
- Housing
-
pay 20.8% more in Santa Cruz
- Childcare
-
pay 21.4% more in Santa Cruz
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.8% less in Santa Cruz
- Clothing
-
pay 27.5% less in Santa Cruz
The cost of groceries, childcare, housing, and restaurants in Santa Cruz are more expensive than in London. Expenses including transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Santa Cruz. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz vs. London Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Cruz instead of London, you would:
pay 15.4% more for restaurants
|
London
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.73
£19.63
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.02
£8.10
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
£2.29
|
$2.93
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
£1.41
|
$2.67
|
|
London vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of restaurants
pay 80.8% more for groceries
|
London
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.16
£1.59
|
$5.27
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.54
£4.07
|
$10.35
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.58
£4.83
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
£3.69
|
$6.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.95
£2.90
|
$6.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.53
£1.12
|
$3.53
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.61
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.44
£1.06
|
$2.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.64
£1.21
|
$2.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
£0.56
|
$2.04
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.61
|
$1.55
|
|
London vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of groceries
pay 42.8% less for transportation
|
London
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.12
£5.23
|
$4.79
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$240.54
£176.67
|
$65.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,798.76
£27,761.56
|
$23,894.01
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.75
£23.32
|
$22.70
|
|
London vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of transportation
pay 20.8% more for housing
|
London
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.83
£31.46
|
$76.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,083.09
£2,264.40
|
$2,989.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,340.14
£1,718.73
|
$2,639.80
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$255.85
£187.91
|
$244.30
|
|
London vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of housing
pay 21.4% more for childcare
|
London
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,480.84
£1,822.07
|
$2,738.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,512.27
£20,941.04
|
$37,770.00
|
|
London vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of childcare
pay 20.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
London
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.69
£6.38
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
£3.83
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.72
£16.69
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$64.95
£47.71
|
$60.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.05
£14.72
|
$14.50
|
|
London vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.5% less for clothing
|
London
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$116.11
£85.27
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.02
£38.21
|
$56.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.96
£92.51
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$160.88
£118.16
|
$115.00
|
|
London vs. Santa Cruz - 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: February 2026
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