Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. Zurich Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 23.1% cheaper than Zurich.
- Restaurants
-
pay 41.0% less in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 9.9% less in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 35.8% less in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 16.2% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 43.0% less in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.2% less in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 32.9% less in San Diego
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in San Diego.
San Diego vs. Zurich Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of Zurich, you would:
pay 41.0% less for restaurants
|
Zurich
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$31.30
CHF25.12
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$21.28
CHF17.08
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$6.01
CHF4.83
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$5.24
CHF4.20
|
$2.50
|
|
Zurich vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.9% less for groceries
|
Zurich
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.30
CHF2.65
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$14.81
CHF11.89
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.35
CHF6.71
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.29
CHF5.85
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$14.64
CHF11.75
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.87
CHF1.50
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.34
CHF1.08
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.46
CHF1.18
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.46
CHF1.98
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.22
CHF0.98
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
CHF0.83
|
$1.12
|
|
Zurich vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 35.8% less for transportation
|
Zurich
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.63
CHF6.93
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$108.91
CHF87.43
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,061.59
CHF32,963.30
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$33.55
CHF26.93
|
$19.40
|
|
Zurich vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 16.2% more for housing
|
Zurich
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$59.74
CHF47.96
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,666.50
CHF2,140.60
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,285.53
CHF1,834.77
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$200.77
CHF161.17
|
$205.84
|
|
Zurich vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 43.0% less for childcare
|
Zurich
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,558.15
CHF2,856.40
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$44,295.61
CHF35,559.50
|
$28,750.00
|
|
Zurich vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 15.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Zurich
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.02
CHF8.04
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$6.91
CHF5.55
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.27
CHF9.04
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.77
CHF71.27
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$25.04
CHF20.10
|
$17.50
|
|
Zurich vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.9% less for clothing
|
Zurich
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$137.88
CHF110.68
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$59.35
CHF47.64
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$159.90
CHF128.36
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$210.59
CHF169.05
|
$126.25
|
|
Zurich vs. San Diego - 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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