Cost of living comparison
compared to
Detroit vs. Oakland Cost of Living Summary
Detroit is 25.7% cheaper than Oakland.
- Restaurants
-
pay 25.0% less in Detroit
- Groceries
-
pay 32.1% less in Detroit
- Transportation
-
pay 10.5% less in Detroit
- Housing
-
pay 22.4% less in Detroit
- Childcare
-
pay 54.1% less in Detroit
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.5% less in Detroit
- Clothing
-
pay 20.4% less in Detroit
Expenses including childcare, groceries, restaurants, housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Detroit.
Detroit vs. Oakland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Detroit instead of Oakland, you would:
pay 25.0% less for restaurants
|
Oakland
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
|
$2.59
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$1.82
|
|
Oakland vs. Detroit - Cost of restaurants
pay 32.1% less for groceries
|
Oakland
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.27
|
$3.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.35
|
$6.06
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.46
|
$3.58
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.50
|
$3.58
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.75
|
$5.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.53
|
$2.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.80
|
$2.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.55
|
$1.13
|
|
Oakland vs. Detroit - Cost of groceries
pay 10.5% less for transportation
|
Oakland
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.79
|
$3.40
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$85.00
|
$66.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,894.01
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.70
|
$13.68
|
|
Oakland vs. Detroit - Cost of transportation
pay 22.4% less for housing
|
Oakland
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.33
|
$52.14
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,035.71
|
$1,450.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,883.33
|
$1,058.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$190.70
|
$192.03
|
|
Oakland vs. Detroit - Cost of housing
pay 54.1% less for childcare
|
Oakland
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,738.89
|
$1,294.79
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,770.00
|
$16,800.00
|
|
Oakland vs. Detroit - Cost of childcare
pay 15.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Oakland
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$4.86
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.28
|
$43.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.50
|
$12.50
|
|
Oakland vs. Detroit - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.4% less for clothing
|
Oakland
|
Detroit
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$72.33
|
$59.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.00
|
$31.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.17
|
$97.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.75
|
$109.00
|
|
Oakland vs. Detroit - 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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