Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Utah Cost of Living Summary
California is 30.9% more expensive than Utah.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.5% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 24.9% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 15.8% more in California
- Housing
-
pay 40.2% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 78.9% more in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 31.8% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 3.4% more in California
The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in California are more expensive than in Utah. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in California.
California vs. Utah Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Utah, you would:
pay 21.5% more for restaurants
|
Utah
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.42
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.31
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.31
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.76
|
$2.17
|
|
Utah vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.9% more for groceries
|
Utah
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.19
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.12
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.39
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.96
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.90
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.25
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.87
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.09
|
$1.41
|
|
Utah vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 15.8% more for transportation
|
Utah
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.31
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$85.00
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,857.73
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.72
|
$21.43
|
|
Utah vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 40.2% more for housing
|
Utah
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.73
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,464.04
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,230.25
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$130.51
|
$171.94
|
|
Utah vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 78.9% more for childcare
|
Utah
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$960.50
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,156.25
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Utah vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 31.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Utah
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.64
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.93
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.31
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.52
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.83
|
$14.99
|
|
Utah vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.4% more for clothing
|
Utah
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.99
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.68
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.83
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$108.85
|
$119.94
|
|
Utah vs. California - 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: November 2025
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