Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Puerto Rico Cost of Living Summary
California is 78.6% more expensive than Puerto Rico overall.
California vs. Puerto Rico Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Puerto Rico, you would:
pay 51.6% more for restaurants
Puerto Rico | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $15.10 | $21.84 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $10.01 | $12.33 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $1.58 | $2.79 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.35 | $2.17 | |
Puerto Rico vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.4% more for groceries
Puerto Rico | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $3.18 | $4.20 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $4.16 | $6.77 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $8.11 | $4.73 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $5.34 | $5.14 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $3.76 | $6.05 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $2.50 | $2.30 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $1.06 | $0.92 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $1.54 | $1.91 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $1.84 | $2.38 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $1.65 | $1.50 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $1.04 | $1.41 | |
Puerto Rico vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 57.2% more for transportation
Puerto Rico | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $3.65 | $4.72 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $35.20 | $63.04 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $34,700.00 | $30,529.84 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $9.22 | $21.43 | |
Puerto Rico vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
Puerto Rico | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $62.46 | $67.96 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $800.93 | $2,385.40 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $580.00 | $2,043.56 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $242.07 | $171.94 | |
Puerto Rico vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 3.4 times more for childcare
Puerto Rico | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $453.00 | $1,633.13 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $9,760.00 | $30,339.97 | |
Puerto Rico vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 72.9% more for entertainment and sports
Puerto Rico | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $2.73 | $7.31 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $3.38 | $5.58 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $11.21 | $10.92 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $37.37 | $68.02 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $9.90 | $14.99 | |
Puerto Rico vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.7% more for clothing
Puerto Rico | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $42.97 | $56.47 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $54.22 | $40.47 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $81.06 | $87.50 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $96.00 | $119.94 | |
Puerto Rico vs. California - 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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