Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Luis Obispo vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
San Luis Obispo is 10.7% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.8% more in San Luis Obispo
- Groceries
-
pay 20.7% less in San Luis Obispo
- Transportation
-
pay 21.2% more in San Luis Obispo
- Housing
-
pay 24.1% more in San Luis Obispo
- Childcare
-
pay 9.8% more in San Luis Obispo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.1% more in San Luis Obispo
- Clothing
-
pay 22.9% more in San Luis Obispo
The cost of housing, clothing, transportation, restaurants, childcare, and entertainment and sports in San Luis Obispo are more expensive than in United States.
San Luis Obispo vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Luis Obispo instead of United States, you would:
pay 10.8% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
San Luis Obispo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$24.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$9.22
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.58
|
|
United States vs. San Luis Obispo - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.7% less for groceries
|
United States
|
San Luis Obispo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$3.45
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$4.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$4.17
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$2.83
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$4.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.56
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.86
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.14
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$1.50
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.89
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.09
|
|
United States vs. San Luis Obispo - Cost of groceries
pay 21.2% more for transportation
|
United States
|
San Luis Obispo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.64
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$60.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$30,323.95
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$28.87
|
|
United States vs. San Luis Obispo - Cost of transportation
pay 24.1% more for housing
|
United States
|
San Luis Obispo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$66.60
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$2,280.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$1,880.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$195.00
|
|
United States vs. San Luis Obispo - Cost of housing
pay 9.8% more for childcare
|
United States
|
San Luis Obispo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$2,300.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$12,489.48
|
|
United States vs. San Luis Obispo - Cost of childcare
pay 7.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
San Luis Obispo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$4.77
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$10.96
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$55.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$12.00
|
|
United States vs. San Luis Obispo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.9% more for clothing
|
United States
|
San Luis Obispo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$50.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$120.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$110.00
|
|
United States vs. San Luis Obispo - 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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