Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rome vs. Santa Monica Cost of Living Summary
Rome is 22.2% cheaper than Santa Monica.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.3% less in Rome
- Groceries
-
pay 12.6% less in Rome
- Transportation
-
pay 5.4% more in Rome
- Housing
-
pay 40.3% less in Rome
- Childcare
-
pay 47.4% less in Rome
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 36.4% less in Rome
- Clothing
-
pay 3.6% less in Rome
Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Rome.
Rome vs. Santa Monica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rome instead of Santa Monica, you would:
pay 20.3% less for restaurants
|
Santa Monica
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$17.52
€15.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.50
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.83
|
$2.50
€2.16
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$1.34
€1.15
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.6% less for groceries
|
Santa Monica
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.41
|
$2.21
€1.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$9.54
€8.23
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.71
|
$7.12
€6.14
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.00
|
$4.62
€3.99
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.33
|
$5.53
€4.77
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.21
€1.04
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$1.04
€0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$1.08
€0.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$1.44
€1.24
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$0.85
€0.73
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$0.98
€0.84
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Rome - Cost of groceries
pay 5.4% more for transportation
|
Santa Monica
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.74
|
$7.66
€6.61
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.50
|
$40.88
€35.25
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,727.50
|
$29,199.74
€25,179.72
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.01
|
$19.86
€17.12
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Rome - Cost of transportation
pay 40.3% less for housing
|
Santa Monica
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$32.12
€27.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,175.00
|
$1,436.63
€1,238.84
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,533.33
|
$927.65
€799.94
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$155.53
|
$171.74
€148.10
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Rome - Cost of housing
pay 47.4% less for childcare
|
Santa Monica
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,762.50
|
$568.18
€489.96
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$15,000.00
|
$10,951.36
€9,443.66
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Rome - Cost of childcare
pay 36.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Santa Monica
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.84
€5.04
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.58
|
$2.01
€1.74
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$7.18
€6.19
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$90.00
|
$70.65
€60.92
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$11.68
€10.07
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.6% less for clothing
|
Santa Monica
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.25
|
$81.76
€70.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.15
|
$37.76
€32.57
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.09
|
$88.68
€76.47
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$149.85
|
$116.80
€100.72
|
|
Santa Monica vs. Rome - 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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