Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Jose vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
San Jose is 3.6% more expensive than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.9% less in San Jose
- Groceries
-
pay 20.3% more in San Jose
- Transportation
-
pay 16.6% more in San Jose
- Housing
-
pay 23.8% more in San Jose
- Childcare
-
pay 15.2% less in San Jose
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 0.5% more in San Jose
- Clothing
-
pay 12.9% less in San Jose
The cost of housing, groceries, transportation, and entertainment and sports in San Jose are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including childcare, clothing, and restaurants are lower in San Jose.
San Jose vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Jose instead of Washington, you would:
pay 7.9% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$3.42
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.44
|
|
Washington vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants
pay 20.3% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$5.00
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$11.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$5.64
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$5.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$6.98
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.95
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$1.18
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$2.62
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$2.19
|
|
Washington vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries
pay 16.6% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.84
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$18.41
|
|
Washington vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation
pay 23.8% more for housing
|
Washington
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$70.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,916.67
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$2,700.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$221.60
|
|
Washington vs. San Jose - Cost of housing
pay 15.2% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,866.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$39,800.00
|
|
Washington vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare
pay 0.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$113.89
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$16.00
|
|
Washington vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.9% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
San Jose
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$56.50
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$46.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$88.89
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$125.00
|
|
Washington vs. San Jose - 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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