Cost of living comparison
compared to
New York vs. Los Angeles Cost of Living Summary
New York is 8.1% cheaper than Los Angeles.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.8% less in New York
- Groceries
-
pay 5.1% less in New York
- Transportation
-
pay 3.6% less in New York
- Housing
-
pay 17.2% less in New York
- Childcare
-
pay 3.0% less in New York
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.6% more in New York
- Clothing
-
pay 14.3% less in New York
Expenses including housing, restaurants, clothing, groceries, transportation, and childcare are lower in New York.
New York vs. Los Angeles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New York instead of Los Angeles, you would:
pay 14.8% less for restaurants
|
Los Angeles
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.39
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.80
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$2.45
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$1.86
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New York - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.1% less for groceries
|
Los Angeles
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.52
|
$3.78
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$7.84
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$4.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.43
|
$4.76
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.55
|
$5.49
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.39
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
|
$0.88
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.16
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.63
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New York - Cost of groceries
pay 3.6% less for transportation
|
Los Angeles
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$3.32
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$93.48
|
$95.86
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$33,821.80
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$19.88
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New York - Cost of transportation
pay 17.2% less for housing
|
Los Angeles
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.01
|
$65.63
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,536.54
|
$1,876.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,984.71
|
$1,567.68
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$139.14
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New York - Cost of housing
pay 3.0% less for childcare
|
Los Angeles
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$1,788.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,000.00
|
$24,966.76
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New York - Cost of childcare
pay 1.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Los Angeles
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.28
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.76
|
$5.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$14.22
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$47.45
|
$63.27
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$14.99
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New York - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.3% less for clothing
|
Los Angeles
|
New York
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$49.49
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$44.18
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$85.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$115.57
|
|
Los Angeles vs. New York - 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
Change currency:
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 York 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.