Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Cruz vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary
Santa Cruz is 48.2% cheaper than Ottawa.
- Restaurants
-
pay 58.1% less in Santa Cruz
- Groceries
-
pay 55.8% less in Santa Cruz
- Transportation
-
pay 27.6% less in Santa Cruz
- Housing
-
pay 62.1% less in Santa Cruz
- Childcare
-
pay 74.0% less in Santa Cruz
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 47.8% less in Santa Cruz
- Clothing
-
pay 11.9% less in Santa Cruz
Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Cruz instead of Ottawa, you would:
pay 58.1% less for restaurants
|
Ottawa
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.99
CA$24.87
|
$2.89
BOB19.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.01
CA$15.22
|
$7.23
BOB49.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CA$2.77
|
$0.81
BOB5.59
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.56
CA$2.15
|
$0.71
BOB4.89
|
|
Ottawa vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of restaurants
pay 55.8% less for groceries
|
Ottawa
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.73
CA$3.77
|
$1.37
BOB9.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.85
CA$8.09
|
$2.37
BOB16.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.65
CA$11.97
|
$4.29
BOB29.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.52
CA$4.86
|
$1.76
BOB12.20
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.74
CA$7.94
|
$1.85
BOB12.79
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.91
CA$2.64
|
$1.23
BOB8.50
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.60
CA$0.83
|
$0.42
BOB2.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
CA$2.25
|
$0.52
BOB3.63
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
CA$2.30
|
$0.46
BOB3.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
CA$1.53
|
$0.43
BOB2.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
CA$2.02
|
$0.44
BOB3.06
|
|
Ottawa vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of groceries
pay 27.6% less for transportation
|
Ottawa
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.05
CA$5.60
|
$2.10
BOB14.50
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$97.12
CA$134.31
|
$21.34
BOB147.45
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,444.83
CA$33,803.54
|
$28,932.40
BOB199,929.52
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.82
CA$20.49
|
$14.47
BOB99.96
|
|
Ottawa vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of transportation
pay 62.1% less for housing
|
Ottawa
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.93
CA$69.04
|
$33.25
BOB229.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,452.55
CA$2,008.67
|
$407.65
BOB2,816.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,228.71
CA$1,699.13
|
$256.22
BOB1,770.51
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.93
CA$164.46
|
$42.87
BOB296.22
|
|
Ottawa vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of housing
pay 74.0% less for childcare
|
Ottawa
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$788.18
CA$1,089.93
|
$200.12
BOB1,382.85
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,753.32
CA$21,784.48
|
$4,195.20
BOB28,989.78
|
|
Ottawa vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of childcare
pay 47.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Ottawa
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.76
CA$7.96
|
$1.45
BOB10.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.74
CA$5.18
|
$3.00
BOB20.72
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.95
CA$17.91
|
$2.17
BOB14.99
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.60
CA$61.68
|
$32.03
BOB221.35
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.79
CA$14.92
|
$7.23
BOB49.98
|
|
Ottawa vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.9% less for clothing
|
Ottawa
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.82
CA$73.05
|
$35.30
BOB243.91
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.91
CA$53.81
|
$48.22
BOB333.22
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.10
CA$120.44
|
$84.02
BOB580.63
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.91
CA$128.48
|
$60.76
BOB419.85
|
|
Ottawa vs. Santa Cruz - 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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