Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 8.8% more expensive than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.0% less in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 34.2% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 9.2% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 1.1% less in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 22.6% more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.8% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 11.3% less in San Jose
The cost of groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation in San Jose are more expensive than in San Diego. Expenses including clothing, restaurants, and housing are lower in San Jose.
San Jose vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 3.0% less for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.44
|
|
San Diego vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.2% more for groceries
|
San Diego
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$2.19
|
|
San Diego vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 9.2% more for transportation
|
San Diego
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$18.41
|
|
San Diego vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 1.1% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$221.60
|
|
San Diego vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 22.6% more for childcare
|
San Diego
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
$39,800.00
|
|
San Diego vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 10.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$16.00
|
|
San Diego vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.3% less for clothing
|
San Diego
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$125.00
|
|
San Diego vs. San Jose - 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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