Cost of living comparison
compared to
Palo Alto vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Palo Alto is 49.2% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 28.2% more in Palo Alto
- Groceries
-
pay 43.2% more in Palo Alto
- Transportation
-
pay 25.1% more in Palo Alto
- Housing
-
pay 64.5% more in Palo Alto
- Childcare
-
pay 92.3% more in Palo Alto
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 77.0% more in Palo Alto
- Clothing
-
pay 13.8% more in Palo Alto
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Palo Alto are more expensive than in United States. Notably, childcare and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Palo Alto.
Palo Alto vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Palo Alto instead of United States, you would:
pay 28.2% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.44
|
|
United States vs. Palo Alto - Cost of restaurants
pay 43.2% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$2.19
|
|
United States vs. Palo Alto - Cost of groceries
pay 25.1% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.84
|
|
| 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
|
$19.06
|
|
United States vs. Palo Alto - Cost of transportation
pay 64.5% more for housing
|
United States
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$3,600.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$3,148.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$179.63
|
|
United States vs. Palo Alto - Cost of housing
pay 92.3% more for childcare
|
United States
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$42,000.00
|
|
United States vs. Palo Alto - Cost of childcare
pay 77.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$206.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$16.00
|
|
United States vs. Palo Alto - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.8% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Palo Alto
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$67.50
|
|
|
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. Palo Alto - 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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