Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles Cost of Living Summary
Santa Barbara is 3.3% more expensive than Los Angeles.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.5% more in Santa Barbara
- Groceries
-
pay 6.6% more in Santa Barbara
- Transportation
-
pay 7.9% less in Santa Barbara
- Housing
-
pay 10.6% more in Santa Barbara
- Childcare
-
pay 8.9% more in Santa Barbara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.8% more in Santa Barbara
- Clothing
-
pay 5.6% less in Santa Barbara
The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Santa Barbara are more expensive than in Los Angeles. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Los Angeles, you would:
pay 5.5% more for restaurants
|
Los Angeles
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.26
|
$2.42
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.6% more for groceries
|
Los Angeles
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.52
|
$4.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$12.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.43
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.55
|
$8.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.27
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.17
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.36
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries
pay 7.9% less for transportation
|
Los Angeles
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$4.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$93.48
|
$52.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$22.78
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation
pay 10.6% more for housing
|
Los Angeles
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.01
|
$74.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,536.54
|
$2,720.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,984.71
|
$2,538.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$166.24
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing
pay 8.9% more for childcare
|
Los Angeles
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$1,425.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,000.00
|
$37,000.00
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare
pay 4.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Los Angeles
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.76
|
$6.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$11.82
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$47.45
|
$66.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$12.50
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.6% less for clothing
|
Los Angeles
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$69.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$77.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$143.33
|
|
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara - 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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