Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santa Ana vs. United States Cost of Living Summary

Santa Ana is 11.7% more expensive than United States overall.

Restaurants
pay 10.3% more in Santa Ana
Groceries
pay 9.6% more in Santa Ana
Transportation
pay 51.1% more in Santa Ana
Housing
pay 12.2% more in Santa Ana
Childcare
pay 13.1% less in Santa Ana
Entertainment and Sports
pay 12.7% more in Santa Ana
Clothing
pay 0.7% less in Santa Ana

The cost of transportation, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and groceries in Santa Ana are more expensive than in United States. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Santa Ana.

Santa Ana vs. United States Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santa Ana instead of United States, you would:

pay 10.3% more for restaurants

 
United States
Santa Ana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.45
 
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.12
 
$15.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.56
 
$2.65
 

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pay 9.6% more for groceries

 
United States
Santa Ana
Bread
1 loaf
$3.56
 
$4.07
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.50
 
$6.10
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.97
 
$4.28
 

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pay 51.1% more for transportation

 
United States
Santa Ana
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.41
 
$4.74
 
Monthly public transit pass $65.85
 
$68.50
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $32,336.38
 
$32,000.00
 

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pay 12.2% more for housing

 
United States
Santa Ana
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.97
 
$60.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,664.59
 
$2,333.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,416.15
 
$2,000.00
 

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pay 13.1% less for childcare

 
United States
Santa Ana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,387.27
 
$1,206.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,196.46
 
??

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pay 12.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
United States
Santa Ana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.84
 
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.15
 
$5.71
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.90
 
$11.00
 

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pay 0.7% less for clothing

 
United States
Santa Ana
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$51.08
 
$54.27
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$41.81
 
$34.67
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.56
 
$102.33
 

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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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