Cost of living comparison
compared to
West Lafayette vs. San Mateo Cost of Living Summary
West Lafayette is 45.0% cheaper than San Mateo.
- Restaurants
-
pay 43.9% less in West Lafayette
- Groceries
-
pay 34.6% less in West Lafayette
- Transportation
-
pay 41.4% less in West Lafayette
- Housing
-
pay 52.8% less in West Lafayette
- Childcare
-
pay 66.7% less in West Lafayette
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 41.3% less in West Lafayette
- Clothing
-
pay 20.2% less in West Lafayette
West Lafayette vs. San Mateo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in West Lafayette instead of San Mateo, you would:
pay 43.9% less for restaurants
|
San Mateo
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$12.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.02
|
$1.88
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$1.54
|
|
San Mateo vs. West Lafayette - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.6% less for groceries
|
San Mateo
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.88
|
$3.28
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.80
|
$11.02
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.12
|
$2.48
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.39
|
$3.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.50
|
$2.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.73
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.57
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.83
|
$1.50
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.99
|
$2.30
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.98
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.50
|
|
San Mateo vs. West Lafayette - Cost of groceries
pay 41.4% less for transportation
|
San Mateo
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.75
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$96.00
|
$28.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,915.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$12.96
|
|
San Mateo vs. West Lafayette - Cost of transportation
pay 52.8% less for housing
|
San Mateo
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$61.24
|
$64.06
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,458.33
|
$1,400.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,743.00
|
$1,250.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$204.90
|
$123.09
|
|
San Mateo vs. West Lafayette - Cost of housing
pay 66.7% less for childcare
|
San Mateo
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,000.00
|
$1,000.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$29,000.00
|
?? | |
San Mateo vs. West Lafayette - Cost of childcare
pay 41.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Mateo
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.25
|
$5.17
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.66
|
$4.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.71
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$110.00
|
$30.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$13.50
|
|
San Mateo vs. West Lafayette - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.2% less for clothing
|
San Mateo
|
West Lafayette
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$63.17
|
$75.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.63
|
$42.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$118.50
|
$67.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$136.50
|
$90.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. West Lafayette - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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