Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Los Angeles Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 14.9% more expensive than Los Angeles.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.7% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 23.9% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 3.0% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 22.1% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 26.6% more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.6% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 7.8% less in San Jose
The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, groceries, housing, transportation, and restaurants in San Jose are more expensive than in Los Angeles.
San Jose vs. Los Angeles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Los Angeles, you would:
pay 0.7% more for restaurants
|
Los Angeles
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$2.44
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.9% more for groceries
|
Los Angeles
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.52
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.43
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.55
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$2.19
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 3.0% more for transportation
|
Los Angeles
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
|
$18.41
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 22.1% more for housing
|
Los Angeles
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.01
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,536.54
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,984.71
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$221.60
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 26.6% more for childcare
|
Los Angeles
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,000.00
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 35.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Los Angeles
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| 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
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$16.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.8% less for clothing
|
Los Angeles
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$56.50
|
|
|
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. 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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