Cost of living comparison
compared to
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo Cost of Living Summary
Palo Alto is 18.0% more expensive than San Mateo.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.7% more in Palo Alto
- Groceries
-
pay 3.9% more in Palo Alto
- Transportation
-
pay 19.5% more in Palo Alto
- Housing
-
pay 10.7% more in Palo Alto
- Childcare
-
pay 1.8% less in Palo Alto
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.8% more in Palo Alto
- Clothing
-
pay 48.0% more in Palo Alto
The cost of clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, restaurants, and groceries in Palo Alto are more expensive than in San Mateo.
Palo Alto vs. San Mateo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Palo Alto instead of San Mateo, you would:
pay 9.7% more for restaurants
|
San Mateo
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
|
$2.44
|
|
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.9% more for groceries
|
San Mateo
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.11
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.44
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.00
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$8.00
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.67
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.33
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.19
|
|
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries
pay 19.5% more for transportation
|
San Mateo
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.60
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$19.06
|
|
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation
pay 10.7% more for housing
|
San Mateo
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.00
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,743.33
|
$3,600.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,855.00
|
$3,148.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$194.97
|
$179.63
|
|
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing
pay 1.8% less for childcare
|
San Mateo
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,750.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare
pay 35.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Mateo
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$95.00
|
$206.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.99
|
$16.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 48.0% more for clothing
|
San Mateo
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.00
|
$67.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$25.00
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.67
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$60.00
|
$125.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto - 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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