Cost of Living Comparison

  1. Cost of Living
  2. United States
  3. Virginia
  4. United States
  5. California
  6. Comparison
USD
COMPARED TO
USD

California is 11.0% more expensive than Virginia.

If you lived in California instead of Virginia, you would:
local_dining

pay 8.0% more for restaurants

  Virginia help_outline California help_outline  
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $14.41 $15.32 +6.3%
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $7.11 $8.32 +17.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.92 $2.05 +6.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) $1.58 $1.61 +1.9%
Average +8.0%
Virginia vs. California - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
local_grocery_store

pay 11.0% more for groceries

  Virginia help_outline California help_outline  
Bread
1 loaf
 $2.78 $3.34 +20.4%
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.81 $6.57 +13.0%
Milk (1 gallon) $3.20 $3.78 +18.4%
Eggs
1 dozen
 $2.03 $3.09 +52.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) $4.23 $4.70 +11.3%
Apples (1 lb) $2.21 $2.07 -6.6%
Bananas (1 lb) $0.66 $0.87 +31.5%
Oranges (1 lb) $1.75 $1.74 -0.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb) $2.15 $2.08 -3.6%
Potatoes (1 lb) $1.45 $1.40 -3.7%
Onions (1 lb) $1.38 $1.21 -12.1%
Average +11.0%
Virginia vs. California - Cost of groceries
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
drive_eta

pay 12.6% more for transportation

  Virginia help_outline California help_outline  
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.33 $3.46 +48.7%
Monthly public transit pass $97.66 $67.81 -30.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,231.67 $23,812.63 +12.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) $14.70 $17.64 +20.0%
Average +12.6%
Virginia vs. California - Cost of transportation
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
home

pay 22.9% more for housing

  Virginia help_outline California help_outline  
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $69.40 $64.93 -6.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,324.53 $1,837.88 +38.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,071.94 $1,619.04 +51.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
 $116.68 $126.11 +8.1%
Average +22.9%
Virginia vs. California - Cost of housing
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
child_care

pay 1.0% less for childcare

  Virginia help_outline California help_outline  
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,002.73 $1,102.03 +9.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $19,613.10 $17,255.94 -12.0%
Average -1.0%
Virginia vs. California - Cost of childcare
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
gamepad

pay 14.6% more for entertainment and sports

  Virginia help_outline California help_outline  
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.94 $5.71 +15.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.25 $4.41 +3.8%
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $6.50 $9.18 +41.2%
Monthly membership at local gym $43.07 $46.72 +8.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema $12.41 $12.91 +4.0%
Average +14.6%
Virginia vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
store

pay 8.6% more for clothing

  Virginia help_outline California help_outline  
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $42.07 $47.29 +12.4%
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $36.30 $39.60 +9.1%
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $77.43 $78.04 +0.8%
Men's business shoes (leather) $95.45 $107.07 +12.2%
Average +8.6%
Virginia vs. California - Cost of clothing
Improve prices · Change currency (USD)
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: March 2021
More cost of living comparisons
Virginia vs. Thailand
Virginia vs. Ireland
Virginia vs. Kenya
California vs. Philippines
California vs. France
California vs. China
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location (Ashburn, VA, United States) to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more
Contribute prices for California