Cost of living comparison
compared to
Madrid vs. Santa Monica Cost of Living Summary
Madrid is 18.3% cheaper than Santa Monica.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.5% less in Madrid
- Groceries
-
pay 25.6% less in Madrid
- Transportation
-
pay 6.3% more in Madrid
- Housing
-
pay 39.6% less in Madrid
- Childcare
-
pay 37.1% less in Madrid
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 40.2% less in Madrid
- Clothing
-
pay 11.5% more in Madrid
The cost of clothing and transportation in Madrid are more expensive than in Santa Monica. Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, childcare, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Madrid.
Madrid vs. Santa Monica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Madrid instead of Santa Monica, you would:
pay 3.5% less for restaurants
|
Santa Monica
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$18.10
€15.61
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.50
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$3.13
€2.70
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.19
€1.89
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Madrid - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.6% less for groceries
|
Santa Monica
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.41
|
$1.71
€1.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$7.25
€6.25
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$4.61
€3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.00
|
$3.36
€2.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.33
|
$4.05
€3.50
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.18
€1.02
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$1.02
€0.88
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.19
€1.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$1.26
€1.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$0.94
€0.81
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.01
€0.87
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Madrid - Cost of groceries
pay 6.3% more for transportation
|
Santa Monica
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.74
|
$7.08
€6.10
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.50
|
$45.84
€39.53
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$38,541.72
€33,235.57
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$16.23
€14.00
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Madrid - Cost of transportation
pay 39.6% less for housing
|
Santa Monica
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$34.54
€29.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,175.00
|
$1,540.98
€1,328.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,533.33
|
$1,118.82
€964.79
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$153.78
€132.61
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Madrid - Cost of housing
pay 37.1% less for childcare
|
Santa Monica
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$673.20
€580.51
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,000.00
|
$13,119.76
€11,313.52
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Madrid - Cost of childcare
pay 40.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Monica
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$4.50
€3.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.58
|
$3.20
€2.76
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$7.01
€6.04
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$90.00
|
$51.05
€44.03
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Madrid - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.5% more for clothing
|
Santa Monica
|
Madrid
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$98.88
€85.27
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$41.27
€35.59
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$107.49
€92.69
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$125.44
€108.17
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Madrid - 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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