Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Mateo vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
San Mateo is 70.3% more expensive than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.8% more in San Mateo
- Groceries
-
pay 2.0 times more in San Mateo
- Transportation
-
pay 1.9% more in San Mateo
- Housing
-
pay 85.6% more in San Mateo
- Childcare
-
pay 3.7 times more in San Mateo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 52.5% more in San Mateo
- Clothing
-
pay 34.1% less in San Mateo
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and transportation in San Mateo are more expensive than in Madrid. Notably, childcare, groceries, and housing are significantly more expensive in San Mateo.
San Mateo vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Mateo instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 9.8% more for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.61
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.70
|
$3.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.89
|
$2.34
|
|
Madrid vs. San Mateo - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.0 times more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.48
|
$5.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.25
|
$7.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.97
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.89
|
$8.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.50
|
$9.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.02
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.09
|
$3.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$2.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$2.00
|
|
Madrid vs. San Mateo - Cost of groceries
pay 1.9% more for transportation
|
Madrid
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.10
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.53
|
$65.60
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,235.57
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€14.00
|
?? | |
Madrid vs. San Mateo - Cost of transportation
pay 85.6% more for housing
|
Madrid
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.78
|
$63.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,328.83
|
$2,743.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€964.79
|
$2,855.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.61
|
$194.97
|
|
Madrid vs. San Mateo - Cost of housing
pay 3.7 times more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€580.51
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,313.52
|
$42,750.00
|
|
Madrid vs. San Mateo - Cost of childcare
pay 52.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.88
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.76
|
$5.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€44.03
|
$95.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.07
|
$15.99
|
|
Madrid vs. San Mateo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 34.1% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€85.27
|
$60.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.59
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.69
|
$101.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€108.17
|
$60.00
|
|
Madrid 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: December 2025
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