Cost of living comparison

compared to
San Diego vs. Netherlands Cost of Living Summary

San Diego is 34.3% more expensive than Netherlands overall.

Restaurants
pay 0.6% less in San Diego
Groceries
pay 46.7% more in San Diego
Transportation
pay 15.7% less in San Diego
Housing
pay 82.1% more in San Diego
Childcare
pay 73.6% more in San Diego
Entertainment and Sports
pay 47.1% more in San Diego
Clothing
pay 6.9% more in San Diego

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

San Diego vs. Netherlands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Diego instead of Netherlands, you would:

pay 0.6% less for restaurants

 
Netherlands
San Diego
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.74
€18.18
$21.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.22
€11.85
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.94
€2.86
$2.64
 

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pay 46.7% more for groceries

 
Netherlands
San Diego
Bread
1 loaf
$1.79
€1.74
$4.20
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.20
€6.01
$7.34
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.40
€4.27
$4.38
 

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pay 15.7% less for transportation

 
Netherlands
San Diego
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.80
€7.56
$5.15
 
Monthly public transit pass $95.88
€92.99
$72.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,938.58
€30,973.75
$35,376.95
 

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pay 82.1% more for housing

 
Netherlands
San Diego
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$43.11
€41.81
$70.11
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,289.16
€1,250.22
$2,839.47
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,051.87
€1,020.09
$2,284.17
 

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pay 73.6% more for childcare

 
Netherlands
San Diego
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,627.96
€1,578.78
$1,754.29
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,050.97
€8,777.55
$21,666.67
 

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pay 47.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Netherlands
San Diego
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.55
€5.38
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.60
€3.49
$5.41
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.52
€11.17
$11.06
 

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pay 6.9% more for clothing

 
Netherlands
San Diego
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$84.34
€81.80
$58.49
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.25
€37.10
$59.66
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.60
€89.80
$91.33
 

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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: January 2025
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