Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 52.2% cheaper than New York City.
San Jose vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of New York City, you would:
pay 40.0% less for restaurants
|
New York City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.50
|
$12.18
CRC5,543.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$11.62
CRC5,289.15
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.95
|
$2.69
CRC1,222.04
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.97
|
$1.89
CRC858.35
|
|
New York City vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.2% less for groceries
|
New York City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.78
|
$3.09
CRC1,407.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.47
|
$5.33
CRC2,425.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.13
|
$8.95
CRC4,075.15
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.03
|
$3.49
CRC1,590.09
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.93
|
$4.71
CRC2,145.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.11
|
$2.32
CRC1,054.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.96
|
$0.73
CRC330.88
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$2.15
CRC979.64
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.08
|
$1.76
CRC799.36
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.83
|
$1.73
CRC787.71
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.66
CRC755.96
|
|
New York City vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 22.8% less for transportation
|
New York City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.31
|
$5.80
CRC2,637.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$140.00
|
$65.71
CRC29,903.89
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,458.00
|
$21,990.00
CRC10M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.44
|
$15.13
CRC6,887.86
|
|
New York City vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 73.6% less for housing
|
New York City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$71.57
|
$59.17
CRC26,929.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,447.32
|
$942.15
CRC429K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$3,217.65
|
$758.77
CRC345K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.80
|
$72.33
CRC32,916.13
|
|
New York City vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 71.4% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,379.10
|
$980.95
CRC446K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$60,882.67
|
$17,102.76
CRC8M
|
|
New York City vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 54.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.50
|
$3.29
CRC1,495.19
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.50
|
$4.44
CRC2,020.72
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$5.91
CRC2,691.35
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$121.41
|
$72.94
CRC33,194.61
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$22.50
|
$7.67
CRC3,488.79
|
|
New York City vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.6% more for clothing
|
New York City
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$75.86
|
$71.32
CRC32,458.76
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.45
|
$55.79
CRC25,389.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$120.38
|
$128.46
CRC58,460.15
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$132.00
|
$131.42
CRC59,807.77
|
|
New York City vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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