Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santa Barbara vs. Singapore Cost of Living Summary

Santa Barbara is 26.3% more expensive than Singapore.

Restaurants
pay 2.1 times more in Santa Barbara
Groceries
pay 33.4% more in Santa Barbara
Transportation
pay 8.1% less in Santa Barbara
Housing
pay 38.3% more in Santa Barbara
Childcare
pay 20.4% more in Santa Barbara
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.6% less in Santa Barbara
Clothing
pay 9.0% less in Santa Barbara

The cost of restaurants, housing, groceries, and childcare in Santa Barbara are more expensive than in Singapore. Expenses including clothing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Santa Barbara. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara vs. Singapore Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Singapore, you would:

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

 
Singapore
Santa Barbara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.28
SGD12.04
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.73
SGD10.03
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.58
SGD2.04
$2.67
 

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pay 33.4% more for groceries

 
Singapore
Santa Barbara
Bread
1 loaf
$2.36
SGD3.07
$4.40
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.89
SGD11.53
$12.68
 
Milk (1 gallon) $11.53
SGD14.96
$5.25
 

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pay 8.1% less for transportation

 
Singapore
Santa Barbara
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.27
SGD10.73
$4.73
 
Monthly public transit pass $92.79
SGD120.39
$52.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $139,191.98
SGD180,587.67
$28,500.00
 

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pay 38.3% more for housing

 
Singapore
Santa Barbara
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$35.10
SGD45.54
$74.25
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $3,116.78
SGD4,043.71
$2,720.83
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $2,276.91
SGD2,954.06
$2,538.89
 

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pay 20.4% more for childcare

 
Singapore
Santa Barbara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,253.76
SGD1,626.63
$1,425.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $29,085.74
SGD37,735.84
$37,000.00
 

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pay 1.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
Singapore
Santa Barbara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $7.73
SGD10.03
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.68
SGD6.07
$6.14
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$12.76
SGD16.55
$11.82
 

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pay 9.0% less for clothing

 
Singapore
Santa Barbara
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$84.93
SGD110.19
$69.00
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$42.58
SGD55.24
$40.75
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.51
SGD135.60
$77.00
 

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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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