Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Clara vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Santa Clara is 28.4% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 29.7% more in Santa Clara
- Groceries
-
pay 16.3% more in Santa Clara
- Transportation
-
pay 15.6% more in Santa Clara
- Housing
-
pay 38.0% more in Santa Clara
- Childcare
-
pay 80.1% more in Santa Clara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 27.7% more in Santa Clara
- Clothing
-
pay 8.6% less in Santa Clara
The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation in Santa Clara are more expensive than in United States. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Santa Clara.
Santa Clara vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Clara instead of United States, you would:
pay 29.7% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$14.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$3.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.34
|
|
United States vs. Santa Clara - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.3% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$4.68
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$5.51
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$4.90
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$5.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.10
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.25
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.33
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.55
|
|
United States vs. Santa Clara - Cost of groceries
pay 15.6% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.59
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$70.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$30,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$22.70
|
|
United States vs. Santa Clara - Cost of transportation
pay 38.0% more for housing
|
United States
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$63.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$3,000.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$2,400.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$166.82
|
|
United States vs. Santa Clara - Cost of housing
pay 80.1% more for childcare
|
United States
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$2,738.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$37,770.00
|
|
United States vs. Santa Clara - Cost of childcare
pay 27.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.79
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$8.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$100.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$14.50
|
|
United States vs. Santa Clara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.6% less for clothing
|
United States
|
Santa Clara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$56.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$40.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$77.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$80.00
|
|
United States vs. Santa Clara - 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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