Cost of living comparison
compared to
Palo Alto vs. Los Angeles Cost of Living Summary
Palo Alto is 32.6% more expensive than Los Angeles.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.2% more in Palo Alto
- Groceries
-
pay 24.9% more in Palo Alto
- Transportation
-
pay 3.9% more in Palo Alto
- Housing
-
pay 27.2% more in Palo Alto
- Childcare
-
pay 57.9% more in Palo Alto
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.1 times more in Palo Alto
- Clothing
-
pay 3.4% less in Palo Alto
The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Palo Alto are more expensive than in Los Angeles. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in Palo Alto.
Palo Alto vs. Los Angeles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Palo Alto instead of Los Angeles, you would:
pay 9.2% more for restaurants
|
Los Angeles
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$2.44
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.9% more for groceries
|
Los Angeles
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.52
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.43
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.55
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$2.19
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries
pay 3.9% more for transportation
|
Los Angeles
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$93.48
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$19.06
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation
pay 27.2% more for housing
|
Los Angeles
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.01
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,536.54
|
$3,600.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,984.71
|
$3,148.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$179.63
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing
pay 57.9% more for childcare
|
Los Angeles
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,000.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare
pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Los Angeles
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.76
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$47.45
|
$206.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$16.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.4% less for clothing
|
Los Angeles
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$67.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$125.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Palo Alto - 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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