Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Monica vs. London Cost of Living Summary
Santa Monica is 1.6% more expensive than London.
- Restaurants
-
pay 15.3% more in Santa Monica
- Groceries
-
pay 45.1% more in Santa Monica
- Transportation
-
pay 39.9% less in Santa Monica
- Housing
-
pay 10.3% more in Santa Monica
- Childcare
-
pay 27.4% less in Santa Monica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1% less in Santa Monica
- Clothing
-
pay 16.5% less in Santa Monica
Santa Monica vs. London Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Monica instead of London, you would:
pay 15.3% more for restaurants
|
London
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.43
£19.79
|
$26.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.57
£7.91
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.95
£2.21
|
$3.23
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.16
£1.61
|
$2.38
|
|
London vs. Santa Monica - Cost of restaurants
pay 45.1% more for groceries
|
London
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.04
£1.53
|
$4.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.36
£4.76
|
$7.99
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.98
£5.23
|
$5.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.01
£3.75
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.81
£3.60
|
$6.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.40
£1.05
|
$2.15
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
£0.47
|
$1.03
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.38
£1.03
|
$1.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.52
£1.14
|
$2.57
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.74
£0.55
|
$1.46
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.80
£0.60
|
$1.30
|
|
London vs. Santa Monica - Cost of groceries
pay 39.9% less for transportation
|
London
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.95
£5.95
|
$5.65
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$245.79
£184.01
|
$67.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,182.92
£28,586.44
|
$36,998.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.77
£23.78
|
$17.91
|
|
London vs. Santa Monica - Cost of transportation
pay 10.3% more for housing
|
London
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$40.48
£30.31
|
$65.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,841.09
£2,127.04
|
$3,375.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,287.10
£1,712.29
|
$2,833.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$284.00
£212.62
|
$166.32
|
|
London vs. Santa Monica - Cost of housing
pay 27.4% less for childcare
|
London
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,857.20
£2,139.11
|
$1,676.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$35,755.44
£26,769.06
|
$32,155.00
|
|
London vs. Santa Monica - Cost of childcare
pay 2.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
London
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.25
£6.93
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.62
£4.21
|
$5.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$23.46
£17.56
|
$11.71
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.55
£45.33
|
$72.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.84
£13.36
|
$19.75
|
|
London vs. Santa Monica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.5% less for clothing
|
London
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$113.97
£85.33
|
$88.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.96
£40.40
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.54
£93.99
|
$104.75
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$162.46
£121.63
|
$120.00
|
|
London vs. Santa Monica - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
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