Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. New York Cost of Living Summary
California is 6.6% more expensive than New York.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.8% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 0.8% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 1.5% more in California
- Housing
-
pay 21.2% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 6.4% more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.3% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 3.1% more in California
The cost of housing, restaurants, childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation in California are more expensive than in New York.
California vs. New York Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of New York, you would:
pay 10.8% more for restaurants
|
New York
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.39
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.80
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.45
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.86
|
$2.17
|
|
New York vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.8% more for groceries
|
New York
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.78
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.84
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.25
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.76
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.49
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.39
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.88
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.16
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.43
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.41
|
|
New York vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 1.5% more for transportation
|
New York
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.32
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$95.86
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,821.80
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.88
|
$21.43
|
|
New York vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 21.2% more for housing
|
New York
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.63
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,876.02
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,567.68
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$139.14
|
$171.94
|
|
New York vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 6.4% more for childcare
|
New York
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,788.00
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,966.76
|
$30,339.97
|
|
New York vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 2.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
New York
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.28
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.14
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.22
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.27
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.99
|
$14.99
|
|
New York vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.1% more for clothing
|
New York
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.49
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.18
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.00
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.57
|
$119.94
|
|
New York vs. California - 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: November 2025
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