Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Monica vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Santa Monica is 18.4% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.9% less in Santa Monica
- Groceries
-
pay 24.1% less in Santa Monica
- Transportation
-
pay 12.6% less in Santa Monica
- Housing
-
pay 7.1% less in Santa Monica
- Childcare
-
pay 54.9% less in Santa Monica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.0% less in Santa Monica
- Clothing
-
pay 3.0% less in Santa Monica
Expenses including childcare, groceries, restaurants, transportation, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Santa Monica.
Santa Monica vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Monica instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 16.9% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$12.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Santa Monica - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.1% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$4.41
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$5.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$6.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.84
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.22
|
|
San Francisco vs. Santa Monica - Cost of groceries
pay 12.6% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$4.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$67.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$18.01
|
|
San Francisco vs. Santa Monica - Cost of transportation
pay 7.1% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$69.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$3,175.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$2,533.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$155.53
|
|
San Francisco vs. Santa Monica - Cost of housing
pay 54.9% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$15,000.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Santa Monica - Cost of childcare
pay 10.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$90.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$18.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Santa Monica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.0% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$149.85
|
|
San Francisco vs. Santa Monica - 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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