Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Cruz vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Santa Cruz is 33.9% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 27.8% more in Santa Cruz
- Groceries
-
pay 38.6% more in Santa Cruz
- Transportation
-
pay 10.4% more in Santa Cruz
- Housing
-
pay 59.8% more in Santa Cruz
- Childcare
-
pay 80.1% more in Santa Cruz
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.5% more in Santa Cruz
- Clothing
-
pay 8.9% more in Santa Cruz
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Santa Cruz are more expensive than in United States. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Cruz instead of United States, you would:
pay 27.8% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
|
$2.93
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.67
|
|
United States vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of restaurants
pay 38.6% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$5.27
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$10.35
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$6.50
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$6.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$3.53
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$1.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$2.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.80
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$2.04
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.55
|
|
United States vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of groceries
pay 10.4% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.79
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$65.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$23,894.01
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$22.70
|
|
United States vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of transportation
pay 59.8% more for housing
|
United States
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$76.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$2,989.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$2,639.80
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$244.30
|
|
United States vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of housing
pay 80.1% more for childcare
|
United States
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Cruz - Cost of childcare
pay 11.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$60.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$14.50
|
|
United States vs. Santa Cruz - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 8.9% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Santa Cruz
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$56.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$80.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$115.00
|
|
United States vs. Santa Cruz - 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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