Cost of living comparison
compared to
Carlsbad vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
Carlsbad is 21.0% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.6% more in Carlsbad
- Groceries
-
pay 46.5% more in Carlsbad
- Transportation
-
pay 42.1% more in Carlsbad
- Housing
-
pay 61.5% more in Carlsbad
- Childcare
-
pay 21.2% less in Carlsbad
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.9% more in Carlsbad
- Clothing
-
pay 31.3% less in Carlsbad
The cost of housing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Carlsbad are more expensive than in United Kingdom. Expenses including clothing and childcare are lower in Carlsbad.
Carlsbad vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Carlsbad instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 13.6% more for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
Carlsbad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£15.25
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.43
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.74
|
$2.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.23
|
$2.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Carlsbad - Cost of restaurants
pay 46.5% more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
Carlsbad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.19
|
$4.17
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.52
|
$5.32
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.64
|
$4.15
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
$5.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.89
|
$3.83
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£0.99
|
$1.57
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.55
|
$0.81
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.96
|
$1.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.12
|
$2.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.54
|
$1.64
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.53
|
$1.46
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Carlsbad - Cost of groceries
pay 42.1% more for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
Carlsbad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.40
|
$4.68
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£74.04
|
$175.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£27,077.51
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.51
|
$49.77
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Carlsbad - Cost of transportation
pay 61.5% more for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
Carlsbad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£31.32
|
$62.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£961.12
|
$2,662.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£793.91
|
$2,240.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£174.59
|
$185.44
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Carlsbad - Cost of housing
pay 21.2% less for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
Carlsbad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,144.20
|
$1,206.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,482.82
|
?? | |
United Kingdom vs. Carlsbad - Cost of childcare
pay 35.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
Carlsbad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.74
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.39
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.33
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£36.82
|
$112.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.38
|
$21.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Carlsbad - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.3% less for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
Carlsbad
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£64.28
|
$50.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£33.04
|
$24.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£71.17
|
$74.75
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£75.76
|
$85.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Carlsbad - 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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