Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sacramento vs. Zurich Cost of Living Summary
Sacramento is 25.4% cheaper than Zurich.
- Restaurants
-
pay 50.9% less in Sacramento
- Groceries
-
pay 5.3% more in Sacramento
- Transportation
-
pay 26.8% less in Sacramento
- Housing
-
pay 2.4% more in Sacramento
- Childcare
-
pay 48.3% less in Sacramento
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 23.1% less in Sacramento
- Clothing
-
pay 36.3% less in Sacramento
The cost of groceries and housing in Sacramento are more expensive than in Zurich. Expenses including restaurants, childcare, clothing, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Sacramento.
Sacramento vs. Zurich Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sacramento instead of Zurich, you would:
pay 50.9% less for restaurants
|
Zurich
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$31.30
CHF25.12
|
$20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$21.28
CHF17.08
|
$11.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$6.01
CHF4.83
|
$2.53
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$5.24
CHF4.20
|
$2.04
|
|
Zurich vs. Sacramento - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.3% more for groceries
|
Zurich
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.30
CHF2.65
|
$4.54
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$14.81
CHF11.89
|
$8.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.35
CHF6.71
|
$4.45
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.29
CHF5.85
|
$5.03
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$14.64
CHF11.75
|
$7.43
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.87
CHF1.50
|
$2.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.34
CHF1.08
|
$0.94
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.46
CHF1.18
|
$1.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.46
CHF1.98
|
$3.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.22
CHF0.98
|
$1.70
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
CHF0.83
|
$2.07
|
|
Zurich vs. Sacramento - Cost of groceries
pay 26.8% less for transportation
|
Zurich
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.63
CHF6.93
|
$4.75
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$108.91
CHF87.43
|
$100.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,061.59
CHF32,963.30
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$33.55
CHF26.93
|
$18.91
|
|
Zurich vs. Sacramento - Cost of transportation
pay 2.4% more for housing
|
Zurich
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$59.74
CHF47.96
|
$74.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,666.50
CHF2,140.60
|
$2,061.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,285.53
CHF1,834.77
|
$1,652.79
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.77
CHF161.17
|
$270.98
|
|
Zurich vs. Sacramento - Cost of housing
pay 48.3% less for childcare
|
Zurich
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,558.15
CHF2,856.40
|
$1,450.83
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$44,295.61
CHF35,559.50
|
$27,750.00
|
|
Zurich vs. Sacramento - Cost of childcare
pay 23.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Zurich
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.02
CHF8.04
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.91
CHF5.55
|
$5.67
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.27
CHF9.04
|
$12.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.77
CHF71.27
|
$49.46
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$25.04
CHF20.10
|
$14.50
|
|
Zurich vs. Sacramento - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 36.3% less for clothing
|
Zurich
|
Sacramento
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$137.88
CHF110.68
|
$58.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$59.35
CHF47.64
|
$54.83
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$159.90
CHF128.36
|
$93.07
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$210.59
CHF169.05
|
$130.00
|
|
Zurich vs. Sacramento - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Switzerland vs. United States.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Switzerland and United States.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sacramento or Zurich. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.