Cost of living comparison
compared to
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo Cost of Living Summary
Los Angeles is 1.6% more expensive than San Mateo.
Los Angeles vs. San Mateo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Los Angeles instead of San Mateo, you would:
pay 0.3% more for restaurants
|
San Mateo
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
|
$2.26
|
|
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.9% less for groceries
|
San Mateo
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.11
|
$4.52
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.44
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.00
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$8.00
|
$7.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.67
|
$7.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.60
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$1.27
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.33
|
$2.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.22
|
|
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles - Cost of groceries
pay 10.6% more for transportation
|
San Mateo
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$4.78
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.60
|
$93.48
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$18.01
|
|
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles - Cost of transportation
pay 10.2% less for housing
|
San Mateo
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.00
|
$74.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,743.33
|
$2,536.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,855.00
|
$1,984.71
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$194.97
|
$155.53
|
|
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles - Cost of housing
pay 37.2% less for childcare
|
San Mateo
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,750.00
|
$27,000.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles - Cost of childcare
pay 4.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Mateo
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
|
$5.76
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$95.00
|
$47.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.99
|
$18.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 56.7% more for clothing
|
San Mateo
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.00
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$25.00
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.67
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$60.00
|
$149.85
|
|
San Mateo vs. Los Angeles - 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: October 2026
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