Cost of living comparison
compared to
Mountain View vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Mountain View is 25.8% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.1% more in Mountain View
- Groceries
-
pay 27.2% more in Mountain View
- Transportation
-
pay 23.1% more in Mountain View
- Housing
-
pay 41.5% more in Mountain View
- Childcare
-
pay 52.5% more in Mountain View
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.5% more in Mountain View
- Clothing
-
pay 8.4% more in Mountain View
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Mountain View are more expensive than in United States.
Mountain View vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Mountain View instead of United States, you would:
pay 9.1% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.44
|
|
United States vs. Mountain View - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.2% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$4.59
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$8.27
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.47
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$2.19
|
|
United States vs. Mountain View - Cost of groceries
pay 23.1% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$18.41
|
|
United States vs. Mountain View - Cost of transportation
pay 41.5% more for housing
|
United States
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$62.47
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$2,812.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$2,400.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$205.96
|
|
United States vs. Mountain View - Cost of housing
pay 52.5% more for childcare
|
United States
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,850.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$39,800.00
|
|
United States vs. Mountain View - Cost of childcare
pay 18.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$72.25
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$16.00
|
|
United States vs. Mountain View - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.4% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Mountain View
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$125.00
|
|
United States vs. Mountain View - 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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