Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Monica vs. United States Cost of Living Summary
Santa Monica is 19.3% more expensive than United States overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.8% more in Santa Monica
- Groceries
-
pay 6.4% more in Santa Monica
- Transportation
-
pay 11.2% more in Santa Monica
- Housing
-
pay 57.7% more in Santa Monica
- Childcare
-
pay 4.1% less in Santa Monica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 32.7% more in Santa Monica
- Clothing
-
pay 18.4% more in Santa Monica
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Santa Monica are more expensive than in United States.
Santa Monica vs. United States Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Monica instead of United States, you would:
pay 12.8% more for restaurants
|
United States
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.45
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.12
|
$12.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.56
|
$2.83
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.00
|
|
United States vs. Santa Monica - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.4% more for groceries
|
United States
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.56
|
$4.41
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.50
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.97
|
$4.71
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.27
|
$5.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.41
|
$6.33
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.78
|
$0.87
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.84
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.21
|
$2.53
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$1.38
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.38
|
$1.22
|
|
United States vs. Santa Monica - Cost of groceries
pay 11.2% more for transportation
|
United States
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.41
|
$4.74
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.85
|
$67.50
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,336.38
|
$32,727.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.61
|
$18.01
|
|
United States vs. Santa Monica - Cost of transportation
pay 57.7% more for housing
|
United States
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.97
|
$69.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,664.59
|
$3,175.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,416.15
|
$2,533.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.19
|
$155.53
|
|
United States vs. Santa Monica - Cost of housing
pay 4.1% less for childcare
|
United States
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,387.27
|
$1,762.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$23,196.46
|
$15,000.00
|
|
United States vs. Santa Monica - Cost of childcare
pay 32.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
United States
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.84
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.15
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.90
|
$11.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.45
|
$90.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.64
|
$18.00
|
|
United States vs. Santa Monica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.4% more for clothing
|
United States
|
Santa Monica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.08
|
$61.25
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.81
|
$44.15
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$87.56
|
$100.09
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$112.04
|
$149.85
|
|
United States vs. Santa Monica - 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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