Cost of living comparison
compared to
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara Cost of Living Summary
Los Angeles is 2.1% more expensive than Santa Barbara.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.6% less in Los Angeles
- Groceries
-
pay 1.7% more in Los Angeles
- Transportation
-
pay 18.6% more in Los Angeles
- Housing
-
pay 8.8% less in Los Angeles
- Childcare
-
pay 1.7% less in Los Angeles
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.6% more in Los Angeles
- Clothing
-
pay 7.9% more in Los Angeles
The cost of transportation, clothing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Los Angeles are more expensive than in Santa Barbara. Expenses including housing, restaurants, and childcare are lower in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles vs. Santa Barbara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Los Angeles instead of Santa Barbara, you would:
pay 4.6% less for restaurants
|
Santa Barbara
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.42
|
$2.26
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.7% more for groceries
|
Santa Barbara
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.40
|
$4.52
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$12.68
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.38
|
$7.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.38
|
$7.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$2.60
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$1.27
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.48
|
$2.17
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.22
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles - Cost of groceries
pay 18.6% more for transportation
|
Santa Barbara
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$4.78
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$52.00
|
$93.48
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,500.00
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.78
|
$18.01
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles - Cost of transportation
pay 8.8% less for housing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.25
|
$74.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,720.83
|
$2,536.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.89
|
$1,984.71
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$166.24
|
$155.53
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles - Cost of housing
pay 1.7% less for childcare
|
Santa Barbara
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,425.00
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,000.00
|
$27,000.00
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles - Cost of childcare
pay 1.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Barbara
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.14
|
$5.76
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.82
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.50
|
$47.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$18.00
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.9% more for clothing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Los Angeles
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.00
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.75
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.00
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$143.33
|
$149.85
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Los Angeles - 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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