Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Tonga Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 11.0 times more expensive than Tonga overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 51.5% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 57.7% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 2.3 times more in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 2.3 times more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 63.2 times more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 67.7% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 4.2 times more in San Diego
The cost of childcare, clothing, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in San Diego are more expensive than in Tonga. Notably, childcare, clothing, and housing are significantly more expensive in San Diego.
San Diego vs. Tonga Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Tonga, you would:
pay 51.5% more for restaurants
|
Tonga
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.31
TOP20.00
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.38
TOP25.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.84
TOP6.83
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.46
TOP5.92
|
$2.50
|
|
Tonga vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 57.7% more for groceries
|
Tonga
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.04
TOP2.50
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.50
TOP10.83
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.92
TOP14.26
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.09
TOP12.27
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.67
TOP6.43
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.26
TOP3.02
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.26
TOP3.02
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.32
TOP3.18
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.70
TOP4.08
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.44
TOP3.48
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.19
TOP2.87
|
$1.12
|
|
Tonga vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 2.3 times more for transportation
|
Tonga
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.50
TOP13.25
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.53
TOP100.00
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$5,814.53
TOP14,000.00
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.69
TOP45.00
|
$19.40
|
|
Tonga vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 2.3 times more for housing
|
Tonga
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$124.60
TOP300.00
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$622.99
TOP1,500.00
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | ?? |
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$142.92
TOP344.12
|
$205.84
|
|
Tonga vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 63.2 times more for childcare
|
Tonga
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$157.82
TOP380.00
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$249.19
TOP600.00
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Tonga vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 67.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Tonga
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.32
TOP8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.91
TOP7.00
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.18
TOP24.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$31.15
TOP75.00
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$41.53
TOP100.00
|
$17.50
|
|
Tonga vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.2 times more for clothing
|
Tonga
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$14.54
TOP35.00
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$17.65
TOP42.50
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$20.77
TOP50.00
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$29.07
TOP70.00
|
$126.25
|
|
Tonga vs. San Diego - 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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