Cost of living comparison

compared to

Palo Alto vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Palo Alto is 80.3% more expensive than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 49.3% more in Palo Alto
Groceries: pay 59.8% more in Palo Alto
Transportation: pay 22.8% more in Palo Alto
Housing: pay 98.2% more in Palo Alto
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Palo Alto
Entertainment and Sports: pay 98.9% more in Palo Alto
Clothing: pay 20.6% more in Palo Alto

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Palo Alto are more expensive than in Ottawa. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in Palo Alto.

Palo Alto vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Palo Alto instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.3% more for restaurants

	Ottawa	Palo Alto
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$25.16	$30.00	+66.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.40	$12.00	+9.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.80	$3.30	+64.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.18	$2.44	+56.5%
Average			+49.3%

Ottawa vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.8% more for groceries

	Ottawa	Palo Alto
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.82	$5.06	+85.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.18	$11.39	+94.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$12.10	$5.85	-32.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.92	$6.26	+78.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$8.03	$6.63	+15.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.67	$3.22	+68.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.84	$1.18	+95.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.28	$2.37	+45.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.33	$3.01	+80.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.55	$1.94	+75.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.04	$2.19	+50.2%
Average			+59.8%

Ottawa vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.8% more for transportation

	Ottawa	Palo Alto
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.66	$4.84	+19.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$135.85	$90.00	-7.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$34,192.21	$36,753.89	+50.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.73	$19.06	+28.6%
Average			+22.8%

Ottawa vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation

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pay 98.2% more for housing

	Ottawa	Palo Alto
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.84	$68.78	+37.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,031.76	$3,600.00	+147.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,718.66	$3,148.75	+156.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$166.35	$179.63	+51.0%
Average			+98.2%

Ottawa vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Ottawa	Palo Alto
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,102.46	$2,823.00	+258.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$22,034.96	$42,000.00	+166.6%
Average			+212.4%

Ottawa vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare

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pay 98.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Palo Alto
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$8.05	$8.00	+39.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.24	$5.83	+55.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$18.11	$11.50	-11.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$62.39	$206.33	+362.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$15.09	$16.00	+48.3%
Average			+98.9%

Ottawa vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.6% more for clothing

	Ottawa	Palo Alto
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.89	$67.50	+27.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$54.43	$46.00	+18.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$121.83	$88.89	+2.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$129.96	$125.00	+34.5%
Average			+20.6%

Ottawa vs. Palo Alto - Cost of clothing

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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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