Cost of living comparison
compared to
New York City vs. Santa Monica Cost of Living Summary
New York City is 17.9% more expensive than Santa Monica.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.1% more in New York City
- Groceries
-
pay 20.3% more in New York City
- Transportation
-
pay 9.2% more in New York City
- Housing
-
pay 17.9% more in New York City
- Childcare
-
pay 95.4% more in New York City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 27.7% more in New York City
- Clothing
-
pay 1.8% more in New York City
New York City vs. Santa Monica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New York City instead of Santa Monica, you would:
pay 3.1% more for restaurants
|
Santa Monica
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.50
|
$26.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.23
|
$3.95
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.38
|
$2.97
|
|
Santa Monica vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.3% more for groceries
|
Santa Monica
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.68
|
$4.78
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.99
|
$9.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.24
|
$5.13
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.84
|
$6.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.33
|
$7.93
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.15
|
$3.11
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.03
|
$0.96
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.83
|
$2.83
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.57
|
$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.46
|
$1.83
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$2.04
|
|
Santa Monica vs. New York City - Cost of groceries
pay 9.2% more for transportation
|
Santa Monica
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.65
|
$4.31
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.50
|
$140.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,998.00
|
$35,458.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.91
|
$20.44
|
|
Santa Monica vs. New York City - Cost of transportation
pay 17.9% more for housing
|
Santa Monica
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$65.20
|
$71.57
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,375.00
|
$4,447.32
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,833.33
|
$3,217.65
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$166.32
|
$164.80
|
|
Santa Monica vs. New York City - Cost of housing
pay 95.4% more for childcare
|
Santa Monica
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,676.09
|
$3,379.10
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$32,155.00
|
$60,882.67
|
|
Santa Monica vs. New York City - Cost of childcare
pay 27.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Monica
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.86
|
$6.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.71
|
$19.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$72.00
|
$121.41
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$19.75
|
$22.50
|
|
Santa Monica vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.8% more for clothing
|
Santa Monica
|
New York City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$88.25
|
$75.86
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$55.00
|
$54.45
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.75
|
$120.38
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$120.00
|
$132.00
|
|
Santa Monica vs. New York City - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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