Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Cruz vs. San Mateo Cost of Living Summary
Santa Cruz is 6.6% more expensive than San Mateo.
Santa Cruz vs. San Mateo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Cruz instead of San Mateo, you would:
pay 9.2% more for restaurants
|
San Mateo
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
|
$2.93
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
|
$2.67
|
|
San Mateo vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.1% more for groceries
|
San Mateo
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.11
|
$5.27
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.44
|
$10.35
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.00
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$8.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.67
|
$6.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.53
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.33
|
$2.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$2.04
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.55
|
|
San Mateo vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of groceries
pay 11.7% less for transportation
|
San Mateo
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$4.79
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.60
|
$65.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$23,894.01
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$22.70
|
|
San Mateo vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of transportation
pay 11.9% more for housing
|
San Mateo
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.00
|
$76.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,743.33
|
$2,989.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,855.00
|
$2,639.80
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$194.97
|
$244.30
|
|
San Mateo vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of housing
pay 7.3% less for childcare
|
San Mateo
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$2,738.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,750.00
|
$37,770.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of childcare
pay 3.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Mateo
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$95.00
|
$60.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.99
|
$14.50
|
|
San Mateo vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 46.5% more for clothing
|
San Mateo
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.00
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$25.00
|
$56.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.67
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$60.00
|
$115.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. Santa Cruz - 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: June 2026
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