Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
United States is 18.1% cheaper than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.2% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 5.3% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 11.2% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 33.1% less in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 20.0% less in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 21.8% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 18.2% less in United States
Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, clothing, restaurants, and transportation are lower in United States.
United States vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 17.2% less for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$2.00
|
|
San Diego vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.3% less for groceries
|
San Diego
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.38
|
|
San Diego vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 11.2% less for transportation
|
San Diego
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$17.61
|
|
San Diego vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 33.1% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$150.19
|
|
San Diego vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 20.0% less for childcare
|
San Diego
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
San Diego vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 21.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$13.64
|
|
San Diego vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.2% less for clothing
|
San Diego
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$112.04
|
|
San Diego vs. United States - 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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