Cost of living comparison

compared to

San Mateo vs. Wigan Cost of Living Summary

San Mateo is 80.1% more expensive than Wigan.

Restaurants
pay 20.0% more in San Mateo
Groceries
pay 2.2 times more in San Mateo
Transportation
pay 12.2% less in San Mateo
Housing
pay 2.7 times more in San Mateo
Childcare
pay 3.7 times more in San Mateo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 37.7% more in San Mateo
Clothing
pay 10.8% less in San Mateo

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in San Mateo are more expensive than in Wigan. Expenses including transportation and clothing are lower in San Mateo. Notably, childcare, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in San Mateo.

San Mateo vs. Wigan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Mateo instead of Wigan, you would:

pay 20.0% more for restaurants

 
Wigan
San Mateo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $19.82
£14.80
$20.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.91
£7.40
$13.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.35
£1.75
$3.02
 

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

 
Wigan
San Mateo
Bread
1 loaf
$1.39
£1.04
$5.88
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.64
£1.97
$6.80
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.75
£3.55
$6.12
 

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pay 12.2% less for transportation

 
Wigan
San Mateo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.16
£5.34
$5.75
 
Monthly public transit pass ?? $96.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,779.88
£28,200.26
$36,753.89
 

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

 
Wigan
San Mateo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$39.64
£29.59
$61.24
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $991.08
£739.78
$3,458.33
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $759.83
£567.16
$2,743.00
 

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pay 3.7 times more for childcare

 
Wigan
San Mateo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $800.57
£597.58
$3,000.00
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $29,000.00
 

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pay 37.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Wigan
San Mateo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.63
£3.45
$8.25
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.47
£2.59
$5.66
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$22.46
£16.77
$11.71
 

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pay 10.8% less for clothing

 
Wigan
San Mateo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$107.92
£80.55
$63.17
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$55.50
£41.42
$46.63
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$111.98
£83.59
$118.50
 

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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