Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 4.8% cheaper than San Jose.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.7% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 22.8% less in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 7.3% less in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 2.0% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 17.1% less in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 6.4% less in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 13.6% more in San Diego
The cost of clothing, restaurants, and housing in San Diego are more expensive than in San Jose. Expenses including groceries, childcare, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in San Diego.
San Diego vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of San Jose, you would:
pay 4.7% more for restaurants
|
San Jose
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.42
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$2.50
|
|
San Jose vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.8% less for groceries
|
San Jose
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.00
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.64
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.40
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.98
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.12
|
|
San Jose vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 7.3% less for transportation
|
San Jose
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.41
|
$19.40
|
|
San Jose vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 2.0% more for housing
|
San Jose
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.13
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,916.67
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,700.00
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$221.60
|
$205.84
|
|
San Jose vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 17.1% less for childcare
|
San Jose
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,866.67
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,800.00
|
$28,750.00
|
|
San Jose vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 6.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Jose
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$113.89
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$17.50
|
|
San Jose vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.6% more for clothing
|
San Jose
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.50
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$126.25
|
|
San Jose vs. San Diego - 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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