Cost of living comparison
compared to
New Jersey vs. Los Angeles Cost of Living Summary
New Jersey is 15.5% cheaper than Los Angeles.
New Jersey vs. Los Angeles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New Jersey instead of Los Angeles, you would:
pay 25.2% less for restaurants
|
Los Angeles
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.50
|
$19.81
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.13
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.72
|
$2.49
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.72
|
$1.74
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New Jersey - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.3% less for groceries
|
Los Angeles
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.81
|
$4.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.75
|
$6.84
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.95
|
$4.80
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.99
|
$5.09
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.26
|
$5.59
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.32
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
|
$1.09
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.16
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.57
|
$2.41
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.46
|
$1.51
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$1.57
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New Jersey - Cost of groceries
pay 14.0% less for transportation
|
Los Angeles
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.97
|
$3.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$105.00
|
$114.22
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,998.00
|
$33,697.81
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.91
|
$19.06
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New Jersey - Cost of transportation
pay 18.9% less for housing
|
Los Angeles
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$80.07
|
$58.90
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,544.44
|
$2,298.53
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,413.33
|
$1,927.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$217.11
|
$142.49
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New Jersey - Cost of housing
pay 6.2% less for childcare
|
Los Angeles
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,676.09
|
$1,975.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$32,155.00
|
$24,015.26
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New Jersey - Cost of childcare
pay 14.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Los Angeles
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.10
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.95
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$13.31
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.47
|
$55.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$19.75
|
$16.84
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New Jersey - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.8% less for clothing
|
Los Angeles
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$89.92
|
$52.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$64.92
|
$53.93
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$119.25
|
$90.27
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$205.45
|
$121.55
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New Jersey - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: Los Angeles vs. New Jersey
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about New Jersey or Los Angeles. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.