Cost of living comparison
compared to
Santa Barbara vs. Washington Cost of Living Summary
Santa Barbara is 5.3% cheaper than Washington.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.7% less in Santa Barbara
- Groceries
-
pay 3.9% more in Santa Barbara
- Transportation
-
pay 4.3% more in Santa Barbara
- Housing
-
pay 12.0% more in Santa Barbara
- Childcare
-
pay 27.1% less in Santa Barbara
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.3% less in Santa Barbara
- Clothing
-
pay 10.9% less in Santa Barbara
The cost of housing, transportation, and groceries in Santa Barbara are more expensive than in Washington. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara vs. Washington Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Santa Barbara instead of Washington, you would:
pay 1.7% less for restaurants
|
Washington
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.20
|
$2.67
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$2.42
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.9% more for groceries
|
Washington
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.43
|
$4.40
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.04
|
$12.68
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.19
|
$5.25
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.55
|
$5.38
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.74
|
$8.38
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.95
|
$2.90
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
|
$0.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.20
|
$1.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$2.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.35
|
$1.47
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.64
|
$1.36
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of groceries
pay 4.3% more for transportation
|
Washington
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.53
|
$4.73
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$77.50
|
$52.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,699.74
|
$28,500.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.73
|
$22.78
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of transportation
pay 12.0% more for housing
|
Washington
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.41
|
$74.25
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,568.48
|
$2,720.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,088.16
|
$2,538.89
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$146.54
|
$166.24
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of housing
pay 27.1% less for childcare
|
Washington
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,650.00
|
$1,425.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,166.67
|
$37,000.00
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of childcare
pay 17.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Washington
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.07
|
$6.14
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$11.82
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$103.76
|
$66.50
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.75
|
$12.50
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Barbara - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.9% less for clothing
|
Washington
|
Santa Barbara
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.00
|
$69.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.40
|
$40.75
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$104.31
|
$77.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.22
|
$143.33
|
|
Washington vs. Santa Barbara - 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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