Cost of living comparison
compared to
Silver Spring vs. Palo Alto Cost of Living Summary
Silver Spring is 10.4% cheaper than Palo Alto.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.6% less in Silver Spring
- Groceries
-
pay 7.1% less in Silver Spring
- Transportation
-
pay 7.6% more in Silver Spring
- Housing
-
pay 38.3% less in Silver Spring
- Childcare
-
pay 11.0% more in Silver Spring
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.0% less in Silver Spring
- Clothing
-
pay 12.2% less in Silver Spring
Silver Spring vs. Palo Alto Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Silver Spring instead of Palo Alto, you would:
pay 8.6% less for restaurants
|
Palo Alto
|
Silver Spring
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.91
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$2.50
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Silver Spring - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.1% less for groceries
|
Palo Alto
|
Silver Spring
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$3.78
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$9.18
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$3.58
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$5.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$6.49
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$3.45
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$3.67
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$3.67
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.83
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Silver Spring - Cost of groceries
pay 7.6% more for transportation
|
Palo Alto
|
Silver Spring
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$3.16
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$176.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$34,231.99
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.06
|
$14.58
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Silver Spring - Cost of transportation
pay 38.3% less for housing
|
Palo Alto
|
Silver Spring
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$65.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,600.00
|
$1,945.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$3,148.75
|
$1,150.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$110.88
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Silver Spring - Cost of housing
pay 11.0% more for childcare
|
Palo Alto
|
Silver Spring
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$2,233.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$60,000.00
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Silver Spring - Cost of childcare
pay 25.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Palo Alto
|
Silver Spring
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$5.29
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$206.33
|
$33.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$17.00
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Silver Spring - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.2% less for clothing
|
Palo Alto
|
Silver Spring
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.50
|
$46.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$36.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$95.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$120.00
|
|
Palo Alto vs. Silver Spring - 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: June 2026
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