Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
California is 20.9% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.
California vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 20.9% more for restaurants
United Kingdom | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $20.41 £15.46 | $21.84 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $9.94 £7.53 | $12.33 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $2.32 £1.76 | $2.79 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.65 £1.25 | $2.17 | |
United Kingdom vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 62.6% more for groceries
United Kingdom | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $1.59 £1.21 | $4.20 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $4.71 £3.57 | $6.77 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $6.20 £4.70 | $4.73 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $3.87 £2.93 | $5.14 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $3.87 £2.93 | $6.05 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.32 £1.00 | $2.30 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.73 £0.55 | $0.92 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $1.28 £0.97 | $1.91 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $1.49 £1.13 | $2.38 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $0.72 £0.54 | $1.50 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.71 £0.54 | $1.41 | |
United Kingdom vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 22.4% less for transportation
United Kingdom | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $7.22 £5.47 | $4.72 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $99.05 £75.03 | $63.04 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $36,224.29 £27,440.55 | $30,529.84 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $22.08 £16.73 | $21.43 | |
United Kingdom vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 53.4% more for housing
United Kingdom | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $41.90 £31.74 | $67.96 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $1,285.79 £974.01 | $2,385.40 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $1,062.09 £804.55 | $2,043.56 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $233.57 £176.93 | $171.94 | |
United Kingdom vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 31.7% more for childcare
United Kingdom | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $1,530.71 £1,159.54 | $1,633.13 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $19,375.12 £14,677.00 | $30,339.97 | |
United Kingdom vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 8.2% more for entertainment and sports
United Kingdom | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $6.35 £4.81 | $7.31 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $4.54 £3.44 | $5.58 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $19.18 £14.53 | $10.92 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $49.26 £37.31 | $68.02 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $13.88 £10.52 | $14.99 | |
United Kingdom vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.1% less for clothing
United Kingdom | California | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $86.00 £65.15 | $56.47 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $44.20 £33.48 | $40.47 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $95.21 £72.12 | $87.50 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $101.36 £76.78 | $119.94 | |
United Kingdom vs. California - 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: June 2026
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See the cost of living in United Kingdom vs. United States. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Kingdom and United States.
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