Cost of living comparison
compared to
Hong Kong vs. Santa Monica Cost of Living Summary
Hong Kong is 4.6% cheaper than Santa Monica.
- Restaurants
-
pay 53.1% less in Hong Kong
- Groceries
-
pay 4.1% more in Hong Kong
- Transportation
-
pay 49.9% more in Hong Kong
- Housing
-
pay 28.3% less in Hong Kong
- Childcare
-
pay 3.6% more in Hong Kong
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.3% less in Hong Kong
- Clothing
-
pay 0.9% more in Hong Kong
The cost of transportation, groceries, childcare, and clothing in Hong Kong are more expensive than in Santa Monica. Expenses including restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong vs. Santa Monica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Hong Kong instead of Santa Monica, you would:
pay 53.1% less for restaurants
|
Santa Monica
|
Hong Kong
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$7.91
HK$61.55
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.50
|
$6.43
HK$50.04
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$1.39
HK$10.81
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.11
HK$8.66
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.1% more for groceries
|
Santa Monica
|
Hong Kong
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.41
|
$2.19
HK$17.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$12.44
HK$96.86
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$11.75
HK$91.46
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.00
|
$3.52
HK$27.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.33
|
$4.85
HK$37.76
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.57
HK$12.19
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$1.09
HK$8.46
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.62
HK$12.63
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$1.39
HK$10.79
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.10
HK$8.56
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.06
HK$8.25
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong - Cost of groceries
pay 49.9% more for transportation
|
Santa Monica
|
Hong Kong
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.74
|
$11.90
HK$92.63
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.50
|
$67.49
HK$525.40
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$38,564.70
HK$300,226.22
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$14.53
HK$113.09
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong - Cost of transportation
pay 28.3% less for housing
|
Santa Monica
|
Hong Kong
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$22.19
HK$172.75
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,175.00
|
$2,349.29
HK$18,289.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,533.33
|
$1,688.04
HK$13,141.37
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$177.52
HK$1,382.03
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong - Cost of housing
pay 3.6% more for childcare
|
Santa Monica
|
Hong Kong
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$1,038.61
HK$8,085.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,000.00
|
$22,248.89
HK$173,207.58
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong - Cost of childcare
pay 9.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Monica
|
Hong Kong
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.48
HK$50.47
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.58
|
$5.23
HK$40.72
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$13.11
HK$102.08
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$90.00
|
$79.18
HK$616.38
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$12.85
HK$100.08
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.9% more for clothing
|
Santa Monica
|
Hong Kong
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$74.06
HK$576.58
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$42.18
HK$328.34
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$91.97
HK$716.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$142.80
HK$1,111.66
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Hong Kong - 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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