Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles Cost of Living Summary
San Mateo is 10.9% more expensive than Los Angeles.
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Mateo instead of Los Angeles, you would:
pay 0.6% more for restaurants
|
Los Angeles
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$3.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$2.34
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.9% more for groceries
|
Los Angeles
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.52
|
$5.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$7.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.43
|
$8.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.55
|
$9.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
|
$0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$3.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$2.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$2.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo - Cost of groceries
pay 6.0% less for transportation
|
Los Angeles
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$93.48
|
$65.60
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
?? | |
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo - Cost of transportation
pay 15.6% more for housing
|
Los Angeles
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.01
|
$63.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,536.54
|
$2,743.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,984.71
|
$2,855.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$194.97
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo - Cost of housing
pay 59.2% more for childcare
|
Los Angeles
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,000.00
|
$42,750.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo - Cost of childcare
pay 8.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Los Angeles
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.76
|
$5.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$47.45
|
$95.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$15.99
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 25.9% less for clothing
|
Los Angeles
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$60.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$101.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$60.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo - 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: October 2026
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