Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 14.4% more expensive than Sydney.
San Diego vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Sydney, you would:
pay 26.7% more for restaurants
|
Sydney
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.41
A$25.04
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.84
A$17.03
|
$13.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.81
A$4.04
|
$3.11
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.22
A$3.19
|
$2.65
|
|
Sydney vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.0% more for groceries
|
Sydney
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.85
A$4.09
|
$5.64
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.93
A$8.54
|
$8.60
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.42
A$9.24
|
$5.12
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.56
A$7.99
|
$6.96
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.34
A$6.24
|
$6.42
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.81
A$2.60
|
$2.12
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.45
A$2.09
|
$0.85
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.56
A$2.24
|
$1.99
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.98
A$2.85
|
$2.25
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.48
A$2.12
|
$1.45
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.07
A$1.54
|
$1.20
|
|
Sydney vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 5.5% less for transportation
|
Sydney
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.40
A$7.77
|
$5.99
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$151.36
A$217.75
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,893.97
A$41,568.07
|
$36,998.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.24
A$23.36
|
$19.48
|
|
Sydney vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 31.1% more for housing
|
Sydney
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$56.21
A$80.87
|
$85.53
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,517.32
A$3,621.52
|
$3,232.94
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,743.66
A$2,508.51
|
$2,390.67
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$168.46
A$242.35
|
$197.48
|
|
Sydney vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 6.4% more for childcare
|
Sydney
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,195.71
A$3,158.84
|
$1,948.90
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,441.13
A$40,916.61
|
$36,280.62
|
|
Sydney vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 2.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sydney
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.66
A$11.02
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.97
A$5.72
|
$5.92
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$44.55
A$64.09
|
$11.71
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.28
A$108.30
|
$71.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.41
A$25.04
|
$20.00
|
|
Sydney vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.1% less for clothing
|
Sydney
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$78.68
A$113.19
|
$67.12
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$69.62
A$100.16
|
$55.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$111.40
A$160.26
|
$112.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.24
A$191.68
|
$144.96
|
|
Sydney vs. San Diego - 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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Compare further: Sydney vs. San Diego
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