Cost of living comparison
compared to
London vs. Santa Monica Cost of Living Summary
London is 28.9% more expensive than Santa Monica.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.4% more in London
- Groceries
-
pay 20.7% less in London
- Transportation
-
pay 99.6% more in London
- Housing
-
pay 4.0% more in London
- Childcare
-
pay 65.4% more in London
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.4% more in London
- Clothing
-
pay 35.1% more in London
The cost of transportation, childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, housing, and restaurants in London are more expensive than in Santa Monica. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in London.
London vs. Santa Monica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in London instead of Santa Monica, you would:
pay 0.4% more for restaurants
|
Santa Monica
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$26.73
£20.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.50
|
$11.02
£8.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$3.12
£2.36
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.93
£1.45
|
|
Santa Monica vs. London - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.7% less for groceries
|
Santa Monica
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.41
|
$2.16
£1.63
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$5.54
£4.18
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$6.58
£4.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.00
|
$5.02
£3.79
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.33
|
$3.95
£2.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.53
£1.15
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$0.83
£0.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.44
£1.09
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$1.64
£1.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$0.76
£0.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$0.83
£0.63
|
|
Santa Monica vs. London - Cost of groceries
pay 99.6% more for transportation
|
Santa Monica
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.74
|
$7.12
£5.38
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.50
|
$240.54
£181.65
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$37,798.76
£28,544.87
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$31.75
£23.98
|
|
Santa Monica vs. London - Cost of transportation
pay 4.0% more for housing
|
Santa Monica
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$42.83
£32.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,175.00
|
$3,083.09
£2,328.29
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,533.33
|
$2,340.14
£1,767.22
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$255.85
£193.21
|
|
Santa Monica vs. London - Cost of housing
pay 65.4% more for childcare
|
Santa Monica
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$2,480.84
£1,873.48
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,000.00
|
$28,512.27
£21,531.90
|
|
Santa Monica vs. London - Cost of childcare
pay 18.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Monica
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.69
£6.56
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.58
|
$5.21
£3.93
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$22.72
£17.16
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$90.00
|
$64.95
£49.05
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$20.05
£15.14
|
|
Santa Monica vs. London - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 35.1% more for clothing
|
Santa Monica
|
London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$116.11
£87.68
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$52.02
£39.29
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$125.96
£95.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$160.88
£121.49
|
|
Santa Monica vs. London - 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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