Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 34.6% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.1% more in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 41.4% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 24.2% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 53.8% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 53.1% more in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 44.4% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 8.4% more in San Jose
The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, and restaurants in San Jose are more expensive than in United States.
San Jose vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of United States, you would:
pay 17.1% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.44
|
|
United States vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 41.4% more for groceries
|
United States
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$11.39
|
|
| 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
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$2.19
|
|
United States vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 24.2% more for transportation
|
United States
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
|
$18.41
|
|
United States vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 53.8% more for housing
|
United States
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$221.60
|
|
United States vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 53.1% more for childcare
|
United States
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$39,800.00
|
|
United States vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 44.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$9.00
|
|
| 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
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$16.00
|
|
United States vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.4% more for clothing
|
United States
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
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. 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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