Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Netherlands Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 25.5% more expensive than Netherlands overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.7% less in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 37.5% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 29.1% less in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 71.5% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 81.5% more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.8% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 3.0% less in San Diego
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in San Diego are more expensive than in Netherlands. Expenses including transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in San Diego. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Diego.
San Diego vs. Netherlands Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Netherlands, you would:
pay 5.7% less for restaurants
|
Netherlands
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.66
€18.68
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.94
€12.02
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.53
€3.05
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
€2.48
|
$2.50
|
|
Netherlands vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 37.5% more for groceries
|
Netherlands
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.15
€1.86
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.70
€5.78
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.86
€4.19
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.76
€4.10
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.31
€6.30
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.05
€0.91
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.13
€0.98
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.77
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.84
€1.59
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
€0.82
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.92
€0.80
|
$1.12
|
|
Netherlands vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 29.1% less for transportation
|
Netherlands
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.56
€7.38
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$101.86
€87.83
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,970.03
€31,880.25
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$27.44
€23.66
|
$19.40
|
|
Netherlands vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 71.5% more for housing
|
Netherlands
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.26
€42.48
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,462.13
€1,260.83
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,216.44
€1,048.97
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$199.59
€172.11
|
$205.84
|
|
Netherlands vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 81.5% more for childcare
|
Netherlands
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,911.60
€1,648.43
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,591.36
€9,133.21
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Netherlands vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 25.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Netherlands
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.49
€5.60
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.17
€3.60
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.74
€11.84
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.55
€37.55
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.09
€13.87
|
$17.50
|
|
Netherlands vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.0% less for clothing
|
Netherlands
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$94.61
€81.59
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$45.24
€39.01
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.29
€89.93
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$135.17
€116.56
|
$126.25
|
|
Netherlands vs. San Diego - 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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