Cost of living comparison

Canada

compared to

United States

Santa Barbara vs. Montreal Cost of Living Summary

Santa Barbara is 88.2% more expensive than Montreal.

Restaurants: pay 41.9% more in Santa Barbara
Groceries: pay 32.9% more in Santa Barbara
Transportation: pay 8.7% more in Santa Barbara
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Santa Barbara
Childcare: pay 4.6 times more in Santa Barbara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.6% more in Santa Barbara
Clothing: pay 1.9% more in Santa Barbara

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Santa Barbara are more expensive than in Montreal. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Santa Barbara.

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Santa Barbara vs. Montreal Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Montreal, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 41.9% more for restaurants

	Montreal	Santa Barbara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.93 CA$25.54	$25.00	+39.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.48 CA$16.35	$15.00	+30.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 CA$2.81	$2.67	+35.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 CA$2.12	$2.42	+62.2%
Average			+41.9%

Montreal vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.9% more for groceries

	Montreal	Santa Barbara
Bread 1 loaf	$2.92 CA$4.16	$4.40	+50.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.37 CA$10.50	$12.68	+72.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.70 CA$12.39	$5.25	-39.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.24 CA$4.61	$5.38	+66.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.11 CA$7.29	$8.38	+63.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.73 CA$2.47	$2.90	+67.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 CA$1.07	$0.74	-0.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.68 CA$2.39	$1.75	+4.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.76 CA$2.51	$2.48	+40.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.32 CA$1.88	$1.47	+11.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 CA$1.54	$1.36	+26.3%
Average			+32.9%

Montreal vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.7% more for transportation

	Montreal	Santa Barbara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.27 CA$6.09	$4.73	+10.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.95 CA$106.78	$52.00	-30.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,369.83 CA$34,718.48	$28,500.00	+16.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.55 CA$23.57	$22.78	+37.7%
Average			+8.7%

Montreal vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Montreal	Santa Barbara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.37 CA$58.94	$74.25	+79.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,201.35 CA$1,711.50	$2,720.83	+126.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$961.99 CA$1,370.49	$2,538.89	+163.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$57.08 CA$81.32	$166.24	+191.2%
Average			+140.3%

Montreal vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing

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pay 4.6 times more for childcare

	Montreal	Santa Barbara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$518.92 CA$739.28	$1,425.00	+174.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,750.83 CA$8,192.92	$37,000.00	+543.4%
Average			+359.0%

Montreal vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Montreal	Santa Barbara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.74 CA$8.17	$8.00	+39.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.76 CA$5.36	$6.14	+63.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.19 CA$17.37	$11.82	-3.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.06 CA$62.77	$66.50	+50.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.12 CA$15.84	$12.50	+12.4%
Average			+32.6%

Montreal vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.9% more for clothing

	Montreal	Santa Barbara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.20 CA$82.91	$69.00	+18.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.37 CA$61.79	$40.75	-6.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.59 CA$146.16	$77.00	-24.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.45 CA$170.17	$143.33	+20.0%
Average			+1.9%

Montreal vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of clothing

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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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