Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Barbara vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Santa Barbara is 22.4% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.1% more in Santa Barbara
- Groceries
-
pay 23.2% more in Santa Barbara
- Transportation
-
pay 8.8% more in Santa Barbara
- Housing
-
pay 40.3% more in Santa Barbara
- Childcare
-
pay 31.1% more in Santa Barbara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.3% more in Santa Barbara
- Clothing
-
pay 12.1% more in Santa Barbara
The cost of housing, childcare, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Santa Barbara are more expensive than in United States.
Santa Barbara vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of United States, you would:
pay 22.1% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.42
|
|
United States vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.2% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$4.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$12.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$8.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.36
|
|
United States vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries
pay 8.8% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$52.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$22.78
|
|
United States vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation
pay 40.3% more for housing
|
United States
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$74.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$2,720.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$2,538.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$166.24
|
|
United States vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing
pay 31.1% more for childcare
|
United States
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,425.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$37,000.00
|
|
United States vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare
pay 19.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$6.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$11.82
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$66.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$12.50
|
|
United States vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.1% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$69.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$77.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$143.33
|
|
United States vs. Santa Barbara - 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
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Santa Barbara or United States. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.