Cost of living comparison
compared to
Palo Alto vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
Palo Alto is 3.1% cheaper than New York City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.2% more in Palo Alto
- Groceries
-
pay 5.9% more in Palo Alto
- Transportation
-
pay 1.5% less in Palo Alto
- Housing
-
pay 8.8% more in Palo Alto
- Childcare
-
pay 18.6% less in Palo Alto
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.0% less in Palo Alto
- Clothing
-
pay 14.3% less in Palo Alto
The cost of housing, groceries, and restaurants in Palo Alto are more expensive than in New York City. Expenses including childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Palo Alto.
Palo Alto vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Palo Alto instead of New York City, you would:
pay 3.2% more for restaurants
|
New York City
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.09
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$2.44
|
|
New York City vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.9% more for groceries
|
New York City
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.75
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.89
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.05
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.20
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.07
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.29
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$2.19
|
|
New York City vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries
pay 1.5% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.47
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.39
|
$19.06
|
|
New York City vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation
pay 8.8% more for housing
|
New York City
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.59
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,037.06
|
$3,600.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,496.67
|
$3,148.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.98
|
$179.63
|
|
New York City vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing
pay 18.6% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,154.10
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$57,250.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
New York City vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare
pay 5.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.71
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$150.04
|
$206.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$16.00
|
|
New York City vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.3% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.80
|
$67.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.94
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.58
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$168.76
|
$125.00
|
|
New York City vs. Palo Alto - 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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