Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. San Mateo Cost of Living Summary
United States is 15.7% cheaper than San Mateo.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.6% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 27.2% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 13.3% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 25.8% less in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 48.3% less in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.3% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 31.3% more in United States
Expenses including childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in United States.
United States vs. San Mateo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of San Mateo, you would:
pay 14.6% less for restaurants
|
San Mateo
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
|
$2.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.2% less for groceries
|
San Mateo
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.11
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.44
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.00
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$8.00
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.67
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.33
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.38
|
|
San Mateo vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 13.3% less for transportation
|
San Mateo
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.60
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$17.61
|
|
San Mateo vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 25.8% less for housing
|
San Mateo
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.00
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,743.33
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,855.00
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$194.97
|
$150.19
|
|
San Mateo vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 48.3% less for childcare
|
San Mateo
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,750.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
San Mateo vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 12.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Mateo
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$95.00
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.99
|
$13.64
|
|
San Mateo vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.3% more for clothing
|
San Mateo
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.00
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$25.00
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.67
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$60.00
|
$112.04
|
|
San Mateo 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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