Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Monica vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Santa Monica is 41.8% more expensive than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.7% more in Santa Monica
- Groceries
-
pay 48.6% more in Santa Monica
- Transportation
-
pay 2.5% more in Santa Monica
- Housing
-
pay 83.3% more in Santa Monica
- Childcare
-
pay 88.1% more in Santa Monica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 67.9% more in Santa Monica
- Clothing
-
pay 4.6% less in Santa Monica
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Santa Monica are more expensive than in Madrid. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Monica instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 6.7% more for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.61
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
$12.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.70
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.89
|
$2.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Monica - Cost of restaurants
pay 48.6% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.48
|
$4.41
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.25
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.97
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.89
|
$5.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.50
|
$6.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.02
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$1.84
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.09
|
$2.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$1.22
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Monica - Cost of groceries
pay 2.5% more for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.10
|
$4.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.53
|
$67.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,235.57
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€14.00
|
$18.01
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Monica - Cost of transportation
pay 83.3% more for housing
|
Madrid
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.78
|
$69.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,328.83
|
$3,175.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€964.79
|
$2,533.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.61
|
$155.53
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Monica - Cost of housing
pay 88.1% more for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€580.51
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,313.52
|
$15,000.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Monica - Cost of childcare
pay 67.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.88
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.76
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€44.03
|
$90.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.07
|
$18.00
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Monica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.6% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€85.27
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.59
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.69
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€108.17
|
$149.85
|
|
Madrid vs. Santa Monica - 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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