Cost of living comparison
compared to
California vs. Wisconsin Cost of Living Summary
California is 21.7% more expensive than Wisconsin.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.4% more in California
- Groceries
-
pay 21.2% more in California
- Transportation
-
pay 24.0% more in California
- Housing
-
pay 59.3% more in California
- Childcare
-
pay 3.2% less in California
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 28.1% more in California
- Clothing
-
pay 4.8% more in California
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and clothing in California are more expensive than in Wisconsin.
California vs. Wisconsin Cost Breakdown
If you lived in California instead of Wisconsin, you would:
pay 17.4% more for restaurants
|
Wisconsin
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.68
|
$21.84
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.05
|
$12.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.63
|
$2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.98
|
$2.17
|
|
Wisconsin vs. California - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.2% more for groceries
|
Wisconsin
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.29
|
$4.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.16
|
$6.77
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.52
|
$4.73
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.12
|
$5.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.37
|
$6.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.11
|
$2.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.90
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.13
|
$2.38
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.02
|
$1.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.23
|
$1.41
|
|
Wisconsin vs. California - Cost of groceries
pay 24.0% more for transportation
|
Wisconsin
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.13
|
$4.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.85
|
$63.04
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,550.59
|
$30,529.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.78
|
$21.43
|
|
Wisconsin vs. California - Cost of transportation
pay 59.3% more for housing
|
Wisconsin
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.49
|
$67.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,194.55
|
$2,385.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$970.14
|
$2,043.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$134.51
|
$171.94
|
|
Wisconsin vs. California - Cost of housing
pay 3.2% less for childcare
|
Wisconsin
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,662.39
|
$1,633.13
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$31,803.36
|
$30,339.97
|
|
Wisconsin vs. California - Cost of childcare
pay 28.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Wisconsin
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.51
|
$7.31
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.99
|
$5.58
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.26
|
$10.92
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$46.71
|
$68.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.06
|
$14.99
|
|
Wisconsin vs. California - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.8% more for clothing
|
Wisconsin
|
California
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.31
|
$56.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.83
|
$40.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.73
|
$87.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.46
|
$119.94
|
|
Wisconsin vs. California - 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: November 2025
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