Puyallup vs. San Rafael Cost of Living Summary

Puyallup is 11.4% cheaper than San Rafael.

Restaurants
pay 9.4% more in Puyallup
Groceries
pay 20.6% less in Puyallup
Transportation
pay 19.0% more in Puyallup
Housing
pay 33.4% less in Puyallup
Childcare
pay 34.2% more in Puyallup
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.0% more in Puyallup
Clothing
pay 15.9% more in Puyallup

The cost of childcare, transportation, clothing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Puyallup are more expensive than in San Rafael. Expenses including housing and groceries are lower in Puyallup.

Puyallup vs. San Rafael Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Puyallup instead of San Rafael, you would:

pay 9.4% more for restaurants

 
San Rafael
Puyallup
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $25.00
 
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.89
 
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.00
 
$3.19
 

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pay 20.6% less for groceries

 
San Rafael
Puyallup
Bread
1 loaf
$4.57
 
$4.57
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $11.51
 
$9.09
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.52
 
$4.23
 

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pay 19.0% more for transportation

 
San Rafael
Puyallup
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.36
 
$5.17
 
Monthly public transit pass $65.00
 
$171.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,500.00
 
$36,318.00
 

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pay 33.4% less for housing

 
San Rafael
Puyallup
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$61.25
 
$87.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $3,100.00
 
$1,866.67
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $3,166.67
 
$1,766.67
 

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pay 34.2% more for childcare

 
San Rafael
Puyallup
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,117.50
 
$3,012.40
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $24,600.00
 
$31,129.44
 

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pay 9.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
San Rafael
Puyallup
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.50
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.75
 
$6.66
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.00
 
$12.06
 

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pay 15.9% more for clothing

 
San Rafael
Puyallup
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$60.00
 
$61.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.33
 
$44.50
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$95.25
 
$127.75
 

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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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