Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 31.7% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 34.1% more in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 59.8% more in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 21.3% less in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 89.8% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 31.4% more in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.7% more in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 9.6% more in San Diego
The cost of housing, groceries, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and clothing in San Diego are more expensive than in United Kingdom. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in San Diego.
San Diego vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 34.1% more for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£15.26
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.43
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.74
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.23
|
$2.50
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 59.8% more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.19
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.52
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.64
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.89
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£0.99
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.55
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.96
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.12
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.54
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.53
|
$1.12
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 21.3% less for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.40
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£74.07
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£27,089.65
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.51
|
$19.40
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 89.8% more for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£31.33
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£961.56
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£794.26
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£174.67
|
$205.84
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 31.4% more for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,144.72
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,489.32
|
$28,750.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 18.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.75
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.39
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.34
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£36.84
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.38
|
$17.50
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.6% more for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£64.31
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£33.05
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£71.20
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£75.80
|
$126.25
|
|
United Kingdom 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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