Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary
United States is 22.7% cheaper than San Jose.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.8% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 28.6% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 18.1% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 31.1% less in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 33.7% less in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 26.1% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 7.7% less in United States
Expenses including childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and restaurants are lower in United States.
United States vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of San Jose, you would:
pay 13.8% less for restaurants
|
San Jose
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.50
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.42
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.44
|
$2.00
|
|
San Jose vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.6% less for groceries
|
San Jose
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.00
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.64
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.40
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.98
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.62
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.01
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.94
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.19
|
$1.38
|
|
San Jose vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 18.1% less for transportation
|
San Jose
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.84
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.41
|
$17.61
|
|
San Jose vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 31.1% less for housing
|
San Jose
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.13
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,916.67
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,700.00
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$221.60
|
$150.19
|
|
San Jose vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 33.7% less for childcare
|
San Jose
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,866.67
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$39,800.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
San Jose vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 26.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Jose
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$9.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.83
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.50
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$113.89
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$13.64
|
|
San Jose vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.7% less for clothing
|
San Jose
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.50
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.00
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.89
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.00
|
$112.04
|
|
San Jose vs. United States - 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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