Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto Cost of Living Summary
San Mateo is 10.0% cheaper than Palo Alto.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.0% less in San Mateo
- Groceries
-
pay 2.4% more in San Mateo
- Transportation
-
pay 14.4% less in San Mateo
- Housing
-
pay 8.2% less in San Mateo
- Childcare
-
pay 1.8% more in San Mateo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.7% less in San Mateo
- Clothing
-
pay 23.6% less in San Mateo
The cost of groceries and childcare in San Mateo are more expensive than in Palo Alto. Expenses including clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, and restaurants are lower in San Mateo.
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Mateo instead of Palo Alto, you would:
pay 7.0% less for restaurants
|
Palo Alto
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$3.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$2.34
|
|
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.4% more for groceries
|
Palo Alto
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$5.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$7.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$8.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$9.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$3.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$2.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$2.00
|
|
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo - Cost of groceries
pay 14.4% less for transportation
|
Palo Alto
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$65.60
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.06
|
?? | |
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo - Cost of transportation
pay 8.2% less for housing
|
Palo Alto
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$63.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,600.00
|
$2,743.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$3,148.75
|
$2,855.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$194.97
|
|
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo - Cost of housing
pay 1.8% more for childcare
|
Palo Alto
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$42,750.00
|
|
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo - Cost of childcare
pay 20.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Palo Alto
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$5.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$206.33
|
$95.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$15.99
|
|
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 23.6% less for clothing
|
Palo Alto
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.50
|
$60.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$101.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$60.00
|
|
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo - 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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