Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 17.5% cheaper than San Jose.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.5% less in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 46.8% less in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 19.4% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 37.9% less in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 34.6% less in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.0% less in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 9.1% more in United Kingdom
The cost of transportation and clothing in United Kingdom are more expensive than in San Jose. Expenses including groceries, housing, childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in United Kingdom.
United Kingdom vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of San Jose, you would:
pay 20.5% less for restaurants
|
San Jose
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$20.41
£15.26
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$9.94
£7.43
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.42
|
$2.32
£1.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$1.65
£1.23
|
|
San Jose vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 46.8% less for groceries
|
San Jose
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.00
|
$1.59
£1.19
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$4.71
£3.52
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.64
|
$6.20
£4.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.40
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.98
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$1.32
£0.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.73
£0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$1.28
£0.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$1.49
£1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$0.72
£0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$0.71
£0.53
|
|
San Jose vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 19.4% more for transportation
|
San Jose
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$7.22
£5.40
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$99.05
£74.07
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,224.29
£27,089.65
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.41
|
$22.08
£16.51
|
|
San Jose vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 37.9% less for housing
|
San Jose
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.13
|
$41.90
£31.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,916.67
|
$1,285.79
£961.56
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,700.00
|
$1,062.09
£794.26
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$221.60
|
$233.57
£174.67
|
|
San Jose vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 34.6% less for childcare
|
San Jose
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,866.67
|
$1,530.71
£1,144.72
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,800.00
|
$19,375.12
£14,489.32
|
|
San Jose vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 11.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Jose
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.00
|
$6.35
£4.75
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$4.54
£3.39
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$19.18
£14.34
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$113.89
|
$49.26
£36.84
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$13.88
£10.38
|
|
San Jose vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.1% more for clothing
|
San Jose
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.50
|
$86.00
£64.31
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$44.20
£33.05
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$95.21
£71.20
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$101.36
£75.80
|
|
San Jose vs. United Kingdom - 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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