Cost of living comparison
compared to
Zurich vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary
Zurich is 44.4% more expensive than San Diego.
- Restaurants
-
pay 74.6% more in Zurich
- Groceries
-
pay 30.4% more in Zurich
- Transportation
-
pay 58.5% more in Zurich
- Housing
-
pay 13.0% less in Zurich
- Childcare
-
pay 78.7% more in Zurich
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.1% more in Zurich
- Clothing
-
pay 61.7% more in Zurich
The cost of childcare, restaurants, clothing, transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Zurich are more expensive than in San Diego. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Zurich.
Zurich vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Zurich instead of San Diego, you would:
pay 74.6% more for restaurants
|
San Diego
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$21.00
|
$31.30
CHF25.12
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$21.28
CHF17.08
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.03
|
$6.01
CHF4.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$5.24
CHF4.20
|
|
San Diego vs. Zurich - Cost of restaurants
pay 30.4% more for groceries
|
San Diego
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.57
|
$3.30
CHF2.65
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.36
|
$14.81
CHF11.89
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$8.35
CHF6.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$7.29
CHF5.85
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.07
|
$14.64
CHF11.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.22
|
$1.87
CHF1.50
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.34
CHF1.08
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.91
|
$1.46
CHF1.18
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.26
|
$2.46
CHF1.98
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.22
CHF0.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.12
|
$1.04
CHF0.83
|
|
San Diego vs. Zurich - Cost of groceries
pay 58.5% more for transportation
|
San Diego
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$8.63
CHF6.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$108.91
CHF87.43
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$41,061.59
CHF32,963.30
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.40
|
$33.55
CHF26.93
|
|
San Diego vs. Zurich - Cost of transportation
pay 13.0% less for housing
|
San Diego
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$82.19
|
$59.74
CHF47.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,033.00
|
$2,666.50
CHF2,140.60
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.64
|
$2,285.53
CHF1,834.77
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$205.84
|
$200.77
CHF161.17
|
|
San Diego vs. Zurich - Cost of housing
pay 78.7% more for childcare
|
San Diego
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,750.00
|
$3,558.15
CHF2,856.40
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,750.00
|
$44,295.61
CHF35,559.50
|
|
San Diego vs. Zurich - Cost of childcare
pay 20.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Diego
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$10.02
CHF8.04
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
|
$6.91
CHF5.55
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.27
CHF9.04
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$73.21
|
$88.77
CHF71.27
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.50
|
$25.04
CHF20.10
|
|
San Diego vs. Zurich - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 61.7% more for clothing
|
San Diego
|
Zurich
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.72
|
$137.88
CHF110.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$58.44
|
$59.35
CHF47.64
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.68
|
$159.90
CHF128.36
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$126.25
|
$210.59
CHF169.05
|
|
San Diego vs. Zurich - 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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