Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 44.1% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.1% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 2.1 times more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 14.3% less in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 85.8% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 63.7% more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.3% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 3.4% less in San Jose
The cost of groceries, housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in San Jose are more expensive than in United Kingdom. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in San Jose. Notably, groceries and housing are significantly more expensive in San Jose.
San Jose vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 29.1% more for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£15.26
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.43
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.74
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.23
|
$2.44
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.1 times more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.19
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.52
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.64
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.89
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£0.99
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.55
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.96
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.12
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.54
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.53
|
$2.19
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 14.3% less for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.40
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£74.07
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£27,089.65
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.51
|
$18.41
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 85.8% more for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£31.33
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£961.56
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£794.26
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£174.67
|
$221.60
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 63.7% more for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,144.72
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,489.32
|
$39,800.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 35.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.75
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.39
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.34
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£36.84
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.38
|
$16.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.4% less for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£64.31
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£33.05
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£71.20
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£75.80
|
$125.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Jose - 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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