Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. San Rafael Cost of Living Summary
United States is 10.1% cheaper than San Rafael.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.4% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 18.6% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 33.4% more in United States
- Housing
-
pay 27.1% less in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 30.6% less in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.8% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 2.4% more in United States
The cost of transportation and clothing in United States are more expensive than in San Rafael. Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants are lower in United States.
United States vs. San Rafael Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of San Rafael, you would:
pay 10.4% less for restaurants
|
San Rafael
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.95
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.00
|
$2.00
|
|
San Rafael vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.6% less for groceries
|
San Rafael
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.04
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.66
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.78
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.59
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.87
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.75
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.88
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$1.38
|
|
San Rafael vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 33.4% more for transportation
|
San Rafael
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.69
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.00
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$30,000.00
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$17.61
|
|
San Rafael vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 27.1% less for housing
|
San Rafael
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$78.33
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,366.67
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,833.33
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$144.15
|
$150.19
|
|
San Rafael vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 30.6% less for childcare
|
San Rafael
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,000.00
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$23,196.46
|
|
San Rafael vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 19.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Rafael
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.62
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$157.50
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.50
|
$13.64
|
|
San Rafael vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.4% more for clothing
|
San Rafael
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$41.00
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$38.50
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.67
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$123.00
|
$112.04
|
|
San Rafael 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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