Cost of living comparison
compared to
Honolulu vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary
Honolulu is 0.9% more expensive than San Jose.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.3% more in Honolulu
- Groceries
-
pay 31.2% more in Honolulu
- Transportation
-
pay 3.5% more in Honolulu
- Housing
-
pay 17.3% less in Honolulu
- Childcare
-
pay 30.6% less in Honolulu
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.2% less in Honolulu
- Clothing
-
pay 10.2% more in Honolulu
The cost of groceries, restaurants, clothing, and transportation in Honolulu are more expensive than in San Jose. Expenses including childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Honolulu.
Honolulu vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Honolulu instead of San Jose, you would:
pay 14.3% more for restaurants
|
San Jose
|
Honolulu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$23.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.42
|
$3.63
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$2.72
|
|
San Jose vs. Honolulu - Cost of restaurants
pay 31.2% more for groceries
|
San Jose
|
Honolulu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.00
|
$6.58
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$15.27
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.64
|
$7.79
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.40
|
$7.51
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.98
|
$9.58
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$3.43
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$1.96
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$2.72
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$3.89
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$2.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$2.31
|
|
San Jose vs. Honolulu - Cost of groceries
pay 3.5% more for transportation
|
San Jose
|
Honolulu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$4.68
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$80.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$35,265.95
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.41
|
$24.38
|
|
San Jose vs. Honolulu - Cost of transportation
pay 17.3% less for housing
|
San Jose
|
Honolulu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.13
|
$67.46
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,916.67
|
$2,197.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,700.00
|
$1,857.69
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$221.60
|
$200.52
|
|
San Jose vs. Honolulu - Cost of housing
pay 30.6% less for childcare
|
San Jose
|
Honolulu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,866.67
|
$1,633.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,800.00
|
$20,440.00
|
|
San Jose vs. Honolulu - Cost of childcare
pay 5.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Jose
|
Honolulu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$6.46
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$113.89
|
$55.37
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$18.00
|
|
San Jose vs. Honolulu - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.2% more for clothing
|
San Jose
|
Honolulu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.50
|
$57.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$55.83
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$105.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$124.17
|
|
San Jose vs. Honolulu - 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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