Cost of living comparison
compared to
Saint Paul vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
Saint Paul is 27.9% cheaper than New York City.
Saint Paul vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Saint Paul instead of New York City, you would:
pay 17.2% less for restaurants
|
New York City
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.09
|
$2.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$2.43
|
|
New York City vs. Saint Paul - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.1% less for groceries
|
New York City
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.75
|
$3.84
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.89
|
$4.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.05
|
$3.81
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.20
|
$3.19
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.07
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.29
|
$2.28
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$2.36
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$1.68
|
|
New York City vs. Saint Paul - Cost of groceries
pay 12.4% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.47
|
$3.04
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$120.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$36,165.86
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.39
|
$16.18
|
|
New York City vs. Saint Paul - Cost of transportation
pay 26.4% less for housing
|
New York City
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.59
|
$75.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,037.06
|
$1,244.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,496.67
|
$1,008.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.98
|
$170.84
|
|
New York City vs. Saint Paul - Cost of housing
pay 50.8% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,154.10
|
$1,453.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$57,250.00
|
$30,000.00
|
|
New York City vs. Saint Paul - Cost of childcare
pay 36.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.71
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$10.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$150.04
|
$41.86
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$14.00
|
|
New York City vs. Saint Paul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.4% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
Saint Paul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.80
|
$39.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.94
|
$42.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.58
|
$84.60
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$168.76
|
$127.50
|
|
New York City vs. Saint Paul - 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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