Cost of living comparison
compared to
Long Beach vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary
Long Beach is 12.9% cheaper than San Jose.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.1% more in Long Beach
- Groceries
-
pay 23.7% less in Long Beach
- Transportation
-
pay 18.6% more in Long Beach
- Housing
-
pay 27.4% less in Long Beach
- Childcare
-
pay 30.2% less in Long Beach
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.9% less in Long Beach
- Clothing
-
pay 11.7% less in Long Beach
The cost of transportation and restaurants in Long Beach are more expensive than in San Jose. Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Long Beach.
Long Beach vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Long Beach instead of San Jose, you would:
pay 3.1% more for restaurants
|
San Jose
|
Long Beach
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.42
|
$3.40
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$2.20
|
|
San Jose vs. Long Beach - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.7% less for groceries
|
San Jose
|
Long Beach
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.00
|
$3.76
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$6.10
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.64
|
$4.28
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.40
|
$3.81
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.98
|
$7.35
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.77
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$2.36
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$2.56
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$1.51
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.32
|
|
San Jose vs. Long Beach - Cost of groceries
pay 18.6% more for transportation
|
San Jose
|
Long Beach
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$4.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$69.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$26,999.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.41
|
$41.42
|
|
San Jose vs. Long Beach - Cost of transportation
pay 27.4% less for housing
|
San Jose
|
Long Beach
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.13
|
$57.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,916.67
|
$2,258.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,700.00
|
$2,080.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$221.60
|
$120.42
|
|
San Jose vs. Long Beach - Cost of housing
pay 30.2% less for childcare
|
San Jose
|
Long Beach
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,866.67
|
$1,666.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,800.00
|
$20,000.00
|
|
San Jose vs. Long Beach - Cost of childcare
pay 18.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Jose
|
Long Beach
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.00
|
$7.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$5.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$113.89
|
$39.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$15.10
|
|
San Jose vs. Long Beach - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.7% less for clothing
|
San Jose
|
Long Beach
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.50
|
$49.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$32.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$102.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$102.25
|
|
San Jose vs. Long Beach - 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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