Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 14.3% cheaper than New York City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.6% less in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 20.7% less in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 8.4% less in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 8.5% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 47.1% less in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 24.3% less in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 6.8% less in San Diego
Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, clothing, and restaurants are lower in San Diego.
San Diego vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of New York City, you would:
pay 1.6% less for restaurants
|
New York City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.09
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$2.50
|
|
New York City vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.7% less for groceries
|
New York City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.75
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.89
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.05
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.20
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.07
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.29
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$1.12
|
|
New York City vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 8.4% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.47
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.39
|
$19.40
|
|
New York City vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 8.5% more for housing
|
New York City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.59
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,037.06
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,496.67
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.98
|
$205.84
|
|
New York City vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 47.1% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,154.10
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$57,250.00
|
$28,750.00
|
|
New York City vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 24.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.71
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$150.04
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$17.50
|
|
New York City vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.8% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.80
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.94
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.58
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$168.76
|
$126.25
|
|
New York City 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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