Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. New York Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 16.3% more expensive than New York.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.2% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 0.5% less in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 2.6% more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 49.2% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 6.5% more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.8% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 22.1% more in San Diego
The cost of housing, restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and transportation in San Diego are more expensive than in New York.
San Diego vs. New York Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of New York, you would:
pay 22.2% more for restaurants
|
New York
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.39
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.80
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.45
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.86
|
$2.50
|
|
New York vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.5% less for groceries
|
New York
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.78
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.84
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.25
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.76
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.49
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.39
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.88
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.16
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.38
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.43
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.12
|
|
New York vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 2.6% more for transportation
|
New York
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.32
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$95.86
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,821.80
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.88
|
$19.40
|
|
New York vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 49.2% more for housing
|
New York
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.63
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,876.02
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,567.68
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$139.14
|
$205.84
|
|
New York vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 6.5% more for childcare
|
New York
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,788.00
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$24,966.76
|
$28,750.00
|
|
New York vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 11.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
New York
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.28
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.14
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.22
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$63.27
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.99
|
$17.50
|
|
New York vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.1% more for clothing
|
New York
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.49
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.18
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$85.00
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.57
|
$126.25
|
|
New York 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
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Diego or New York. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.