Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sacramento vs. Seattle Cost of Living Summary
Sacramento is 9.3% cheaper than Seattle.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.0% less in Sacramento
- Groceries
-
pay 9.9% less in Sacramento
- Transportation
-
pay 5.8% more in Sacramento
- Housing
-
pay 1.3% more in Sacramento
- Childcare
-
pay 20.8% less in Sacramento
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.7% less in Sacramento
- Clothing
-
pay 9.7% less in Sacramento
The cost of transportation and housing in Sacramento are more expensive than in Seattle. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in Sacramento.
Sacramento vs. Seattle Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sacramento instead of Seattle, you would:
pay 20.0% less for restaurants
|
Seattle
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.00
|
$2.53
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.47
|
$2.04
|
|
Seattle vs. Sacramento - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.9% less for groceries
|
Seattle
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.23
|
$4.54
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.39
|
$8.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.40
|
$4.45
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.32
|
$5.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.35
|
$7.43
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.87
|
$2.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.26
|
$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.43
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.18
|
$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$1.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.57
|
$2.07
|
|
Seattle vs. Sacramento - Cost of groceries
pay 5.8% more for transportation
|
Seattle
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.55
|
$4.75
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.50
|
$100.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,656.56
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.02
|
$18.91
|
|
Seattle vs. Sacramento - Cost of transportation
pay 1.3% more for housing
|
Seattle
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$78.37
|
$74.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,333.68
|
$2,061.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,900.00
|
$1,652.79
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.99
|
$270.98
|
|
Seattle vs. Sacramento - Cost of housing
pay 20.8% less for childcare
|
Seattle
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,200.00
|
$1,450.83
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,000.00
|
$27,750.00
|
|
Seattle vs. Sacramento - Cost of childcare
pay 11.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
Seattle
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.75
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.04
|
$5.67
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.75
|
$12.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$85.87
|
$49.46
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$14.50
|
|
Seattle vs. Sacramento - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.7% less for clothing
|
Seattle
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.52
|
$58.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.68
|
$54.83
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$116.24
|
$93.07
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$135.08
|
$130.00
|
|
Seattle vs. Sacramento - 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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