Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Mesa vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Costa Mesa is 57.5% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants
pay 27.4% more in Costa Mesa
Groceries
pay 47.5% more in Costa Mesa
Transportation
pay 3.4% more in Costa Mesa
Housing
pay 2.2 times more in Costa Mesa
Childcare
pay 2.4 times more in Costa Mesa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 32.0% more in Costa Mesa
Clothing
pay 5.9% more in Costa Mesa

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in Costa Mesa are more expensive than in Rome. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Mesa instead of Rome, you would:

pay 27.4% more for restaurants

 
Rome
Costa Mesa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $16.80
€15.07
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.20
€10.05
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.96
€2.66
$3.33
 

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pay 47.5% more for groceries

 
Rome
Costa Mesa
Bread
1 loaf
$2.22
€2.00
$4.05
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.42
€6.66
$6.48
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.49
€5.82
$4.22
 

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pay 3.4% more for transportation

 
Rome
Costa Mesa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.04
€7.21
$5.65
 
Monthly public transit pass $39.19
€35.16
$69.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,551.60
€31,895.12
$36,998.00
 

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

 
Rome
Costa Mesa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$31.87
€28.59
$71.25
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,208.81
€1,084.48
$2,733.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $873.39
€783.57
$2,466.67
 

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

 
Rome
Costa Mesa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $487.21
€437.10
$1,180.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $16,862.20
€15,127.92
??

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pay 32.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Rome
Costa Mesa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.60
€5.02
$7.25
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.07
€1.86
$5.75
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$7.28
€6.53
$11.71
 

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pay 5.9% more for clothing

 
Rome
Costa Mesa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$71.31
€63.98
$57.50
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.31
€32.58
$48.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.63
€75.03
$93.33
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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