Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Barbara vs. Miami Cost of Living Summary
Santa Barbara is 8.3% more expensive than Miami.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.7% less in Santa Barbara
- Groceries
-
pay 19.5% more in Santa Barbara
- Transportation
-
pay 0.5% less in Santa Barbara
- Housing
-
pay 19.1% more in Santa Barbara
- Childcare
-
pay 20.2% more in Santa Barbara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.3% more in Santa Barbara
- Clothing
-
pay 6.4% more in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara vs. Miami Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Miami, you would:
pay 10.7% less for restaurants
|
Miami
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.45
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.97
|
$2.42
|
|
Miami vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.5% more for groceries
|
Miami
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.95
|
$4.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.71
|
$12.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.18
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.65
|
$8.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.28
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.95
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.14
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.52
|
$1.36
|
|
Miami vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries
pay 0.5% less for transportation
|
Miami
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.29
|
$4.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$103.75
|
$52.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,105.50
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.38
|
$22.78
|
|
Miami vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation
pay 19.1% more for housing
|
Miami
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$64.02
|
$74.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,961.90
|
$2,720.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,080.77
|
$2,538.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$113.50
|
$166.24
|
|
Miami vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing
pay 20.2% more for childcare
|
Miami
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,504.55
|
$1,425.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$25,375.00
|
$37,000.00
|
|
Miami vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare
pay 4.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Miami
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.53
|
$6.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$11.82
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.27
|
$66.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$12.50
|
|
Miami vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.4% more for clothing
|
Miami
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.30
|
$69.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.79
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$92.62
|
$77.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$109.71
|
$143.33
|
|
Miami 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: October 2026
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