Cost of living comparison
compared to
Washington vs. Santa Barbara Cost of Living Summary
Washington is 12.4% more expensive than Santa Barbara.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.1% more in Washington
- Groceries
-
pay 0.4% more in Washington
- Transportation
-
pay 5.6% more in Washington
- Housing
-
pay 10.4% less in Washington
- Childcare
-
pay 47.3% more in Washington
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 24.7% more in Washington
- Clothing
-
pay 14.3% more in Washington
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, transportation, restaurants, and groceries in Washington are more expensive than in Santa Barbara.
Washington vs. Santa Barbara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Washington instead of Santa Barbara, you would:
pay 5.1% more for restaurants
|
Santa Barbara
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$3.20
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.42
|
$2.79
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Washington - Cost of restaurants
pay 0.4% more for groceries
|
Santa Barbara
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.40
|
$4.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$12.68
|
$8.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.25
|
$4.19
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.38
|
$4.55
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.38
|
$7.74
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.48
|
$3.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$1.35
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.64
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Washington - Cost of groceries
pay 5.6% more for transportation
|
Santa Barbara
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
|
$3.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$52.00
|
$77.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,500.00
|
$35,699.74
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.78
|
$16.73
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Washington - Cost of transportation
pay 10.4% less for housing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.25
|
$69.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,720.83
|
$2,568.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,538.89
|
$2,088.16
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$166.24
|
$146.54
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Washington - Cost of housing
pay 47.3% more for childcare
|
Santa Barbara
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,425.00
|
$2,650.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,000.00
|
$40,166.67
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Washington - Cost of childcare
pay 24.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Barbara
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.14
|
$6.07
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.82
|
$13.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$66.50
|
$103.76
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.50
|
$16.75
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Washington - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.3% more for clothing
|
Santa Barbara
|
Washington
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.00
|
$76.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.75
|
$48.40
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.00
|
$104.31
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$143.33
|
$133.22
|
|
Santa Barbara vs. Washington - 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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