Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
Costa Mesa is 12.9% cheaper than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.7% less in Costa Mesa
- Groceries
-
pay 1.3% less in Costa Mesa
- Transportation
-
pay 7.9% less in Costa Mesa
- Housing
-
pay 7.4% less in Costa Mesa
- Childcare
-
pay 31.1% less in Costa Mesa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.6% less in Costa Mesa
- Clothing
-
pay 21.2% less in Costa Mesa
Expenses including childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, and restaurants are lower in Costa Mesa.
Costa Mesa vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Mesa instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 6.7% less for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$3.33
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.20
|
|
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.3% less for groceries
|
San Diego
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$3.76
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$5.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$4.28
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$4.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$4.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$2.56
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$2.00
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.32
|
|
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of groceries
pay 7.9% less for transportation
|
San Diego
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$4.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$26,999.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
?? | |
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of transportation
pay 7.4% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$62.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$2,798.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$2,466.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$216.33
|
|
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of housing
pay 31.1% less for childcare
|
San Diego
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$1,206.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
?? | |
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of childcare
pay 14.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$40.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$16.50
|
|
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.2% less for clothing
|
San Diego
|
Costa Mesa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$54.27
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$34.67
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$90.25
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$102.25
|
|
San Diego vs. Costa Mesa - 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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