Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Marcos vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
San Marcos is 11.9% more expensive than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 19.4% more in San Marcos
- Groceries
-
pay 10.9% less in San Marcos
- Transportation
-
pay 4.8% more in San Marcos
- Housing
-
pay 17.6% more in San Marcos
- Childcare
-
pay 25.4% more in San Marcos
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.7% more in San Marcos
- Clothing
-
pay 9.6% more in San Marcos
The cost of childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and transportation in San Marcos are more expensive than in Ottawa.
San Marcos vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Marcos instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 19.4% more for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.78
|
$19.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.17
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.76
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$2.23
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Marcos - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.9% less for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.76
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.06
|
$4.91
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.92
|
$3.44
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.85
|
$3.83
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.91
|
$5.20
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.63
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
$1.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.52
|
$1.20
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.01
|
$1.05
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Marcos - Cost of groceries
pay 4.8% more for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.58
|
$2.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$133.83
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,683.76
|
$36,278.39
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.42
|
$14.39
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Marcos - Cost of transportation
pay 17.6% more for housing
|
Ottawa
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$68.80
|
$70.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,001.55
|
$1,340.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,693.10
|
$1,400.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$163.88
|
$145.65
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Marcos - Cost of housing
pay 25.4% more for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,086.07
|
$670.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,707.29
|
$26,120.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Marcos - Cost of childcare
pay 17.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.93
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.16
|
$4.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.84
|
$8.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.46
|
$69.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.87
|
$15.00
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Marcos - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.6% more for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
San Marcos
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$72.79
|
$45.57
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.62
|
$44.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.02
|
$98.95
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.02
|
$116.43
|
|
Ottawa vs. San Marcos - 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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