Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Long Beach Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 28.0% more expensive than Long Beach.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.5% less in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 35.3% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 3.0% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 41.4% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 55.5% more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 44.9% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 17.1% more in San Jose
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, clothing, and transportation in San Jose are more expensive than in Long Beach.
San Jose vs. Long Beach Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Long Beach, you would:
pay 1.5% less for restaurants
|
Long Beach
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.40
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.20
|
$2.44
|
|
Long Beach vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 35.3% more for groceries
|
Long Beach
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.76
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.10
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.28
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.81
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.35
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.77
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.36
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.56
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.51
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.32
|
$2.19
|
|
Long Beach vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 3.0% more for transportation
|
Long Beach
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$69.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,999.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$41.42
|
$18.41
|
|
Long Beach vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 41.4% more for housing
|
Long Beach
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.25
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,258.33
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,080.00
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$120.42
|
$221.60
|
|
Long Beach vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 55.5% more for childcare
|
Long Beach
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,666.67
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,000.00
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Long Beach vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 44.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Long Beach
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.50
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.71
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.00
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.10
|
$16.00
|
|
Long Beach vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.1% more for clothing
|
Long Beach
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.00
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.00
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.33
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$102.25
|
$125.00
|
|
Long Beach vs. San Jose - 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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