Cost of living comparison
compared to
Oakland vs. Seattle Cost of Living Summary
Oakland is 0.6% more expensive than Seattle.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.0% more in Oakland
- Groceries
-
pay 1.8% more in Oakland
- Transportation
-
pay 0.6% less in Oakland
- Housing
-
pay 9.5% less in Oakland
- Childcare
-
pay 25.2% more in Oakland
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.7% less in Oakland
- Clothing
-
pay 3.1% less in Oakland
The cost of childcare, restaurants, and groceries in Oakland are more expensive than in Seattle. Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and transportation are lower in Oakland.
Oakland vs. Seattle Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Oakland instead of Seattle, you would:
pay 4.0% more for restaurants
|
Seattle
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.00
|
$2.93
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.47
|
$2.33
|
|
Seattle vs. Oakland - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.8% more for groceries
|
Seattle
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.23
|
$5.27
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$10.35
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.40
|
$5.46
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.32
|
$6.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.35
|
$6.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.87
|
$3.53
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.43
|
$2.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.18
|
$2.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$2.04
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.57
|
$1.55
|
|
Seattle vs. Oakland - Cost of groceries
pay 0.6% less for transportation
|
Seattle
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.55
|
$4.79
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.50
|
$85.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,656.56
|
$23,894.01
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.02
|
$22.70
|
|
Seattle vs. Oakland - Cost of transportation
pay 9.5% less for housing
|
Seattle
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$78.37
|
$63.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,333.68
|
$2,035.71
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,900.00
|
$1,883.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.99
|
$190.70
|
|
Seattle vs. Oakland - Cost of housing
pay 25.2% more for childcare
|
Seattle
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,200.00
|
$2,738.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,000.00
|
$37,770.00
|
|
Seattle vs. Oakland - Cost of childcare
pay 13.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Seattle
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.75
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.04
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.75
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$85.87
|
$54.28
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$14.50
|
|
Seattle vs. Oakland - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.1% less for clothing
|
Seattle
|
Oakland
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.52
|
$72.33
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.68
|
$56.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$116.24
|
$103.17
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$135.08
|
$124.75
|
|
Seattle vs. Oakland - 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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