Moving to California from New York
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from New York to California — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from New York to California, you would find that California is 8.5% more expensive than New York. A $75,000 salary in New York would need to be roughly $81,400 in California to maintain the same lifestyle. Expect a noticeable climate shift — Los Angeles averages 75°F vs 62°F in New York City, making it significantly warmer. New York City and Los Angeles are about 2,450 mi apart.
Thinking of moving to California? Get a shortlist of towns in California that match your priorities: size, cost, taxes, safety, disaster risk, hospitals and transport. Find my towns →Is California cheaper than New York?
The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 6.1% more
Groceries
pay 6.5% more
Transportation
pay 2.4% more
Housing
pay 17.3% more
Childcare
pay 1.8% less
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.9% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
What salary do you need in California?
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $81,400
To maintain the same standard of living in California
Calculate with your salary →Cost of living by city
Cost of living varies a lot by city. Each figure is a city's overall cost of living as a percentage of New York City (the priciest, = 100%).
On average, cities in California cost about 21% more than cities in New York.
Compare cities head-to-head
Key Indicator Comparison
How New York and California stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
New York performs better than California across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
New York generally does better on health & wellbeing, though California leads in adult obesity rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
New York generally does better on what about housing?, though California leads in homeownership rate.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
California performs significantly better than New York across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
New York generally does better on employment & economy, though California leads in median household income.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
New York generally does better on family life, though California leads in life expectancy.
Sources: US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES) (2022), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), OECD Regional Demography (2020). How we calculate this
Weather in California vs New York
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | New York City | Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 43°/30°F (6°/-1°C) | 69°/49°F (21°/10°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 70°/54°F (21°/12°C) | 75°/57°F (24°/14°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 81°/66°F (27°/19°C) | 83°/64°F (29°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 54°/41°F (12°/5°C) | 73°/53°F (23°/12°C) |
View all months
| Month | New York City | Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38°/27°F (3.5°/-2.8°C) | 68°/48°F (20.1°/8.8°C) |
| Feb | 42°/29°F (5.3°/-1.7°C) | 69°/49°F (20.3°/9.6°C) |
| Mar | 50°/35°F (9.8°/1.8°C) | 70°/51°F (21.2°/10.6°C) |
| Apr | 61°/45°F (16.2°/7.1°C) | 73°/53°F (22.6°/11.9°C) |
| May | 71°/54°F (21.6°/12.2°C) | 74°/57°F (23.6°/13.9°C) |
| Jun | 79°/64°F (26.3°/17.6°C) | 78°/60°F (25.6°/15.7°C) |
| Jul | 84°/69°F (28.9°/20.4°C) | 83°/64°F (28.4°/17.6°C) |
| Aug | 83°/68°F (28.1°/19.9°C) | 84°/64°F (29.1°/17.8°C) |
| Sep | 75°/61°F (24.0°/16.0°C) | 83°/63°F (28.4°/17.3°C) |
| Oct | 64°/50°F (17.7°/10.0°C) | 78°/59°F (25.8°/14.8°C) |
| Nov | 54°/42°F (12.1°/5.3°C) | 73°/52°F (22.7°/11.1°C) |
| Dec | 43°/32°F (6.1°/0.0°C) | 68°/47°F (19.8°/8.6°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in California than New York?
Day-to-day costs in California run about 9% higher than New York on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to California?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $20,350 in California for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is California safe?
New York performs better than California across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in California compared to New York?
New York generally does better on health & wellbeing, though California leads in adult obesity rate.
What's the weather like in California compared to New York?
The average high temperature in Los Angeles is 75°F, compared to 62°F in New York City. Los Angeles receives around 14.9 in of rainfall per year, while New York City gets 49.9 in.
