Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Mateo vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
San Mateo is 0.4% more expensive than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 5.6% less in San Mateo
- Groceries
-
pay 24.0% more in San Mateo
- Transportation
-
pay 7.4% more in San Mateo
- Housing
-
pay 16.9% more in San Mateo
- Childcare
-
pay 6.5% more in San Mateo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.9% less in San Mateo
- Clothing
-
pay 31.7% less in San Mateo
The cost of groceries, housing, transportation, and childcare in San Mateo are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including clothing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in San Mateo.
San Mateo vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Mateo instead of Washington, you would:
pay 5.6% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$22.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$13.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$3.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.34
|
|
Washington vs. San Mateo - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.0% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$5.11
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$7.44
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$6.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$8.00
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$9.67
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$3.00
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.90
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.33
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$2.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$2.00
|
|
Washington vs. San Mateo - Cost of groceries
pay 7.4% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$65.60
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
?? | |
Washington vs. San Mateo - Cost of transportation
pay 16.9% more for housing
|
Washington
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$63.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,743.33
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$2,855.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$194.97
|
|
Washington vs. San Mateo - Cost of housing
pay 6.5% more for childcare
|
Washington
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$2,823.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$42,750.00
|
|
Washington vs. San Mateo - Cost of childcare
pay 14.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$5.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$8.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$95.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$15.99
|
|
Washington vs. San Mateo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 31.7% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
San Mateo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$60.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$101.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$60.00
|
|
Washington vs. San Mateo - 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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