Cost of living comparison

compared to

New York City vs. Oakland Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 25.6% more expensive than Oakland.

Restaurants: pay 14.7% more in New York City
Groceries: pay 7.6% less in New York City
Transportation: pay 11.2% more in New York City
Housing: pay 28.4% more in New York City
Childcare: pay 37.5% more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 84.1% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 11.1% more in New York City

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, housing, restaurants, transportation, and clothing in New York City are more expensive than in Oakland. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in New York City.

New York City vs. Oakland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Oakland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.7% more for restaurants

	Oakland	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$25.00	$30.00	+20.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.00	$12.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.83	$3.22	+14.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.17	$2.39	+10.2%
Average			+14.7%

Oakland vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.6% less for groceries

	Oakland	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$4.86	$4.82	-1.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$11.38	$8.52	-25.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.56	$5.80	+4.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.32	$5.06	-4.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.92	$6.82	-1.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.26	$3.25	-0.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.31	$1.04	-21.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.54	$2.67	+4.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.14	$2.70	-14.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.01	$1.73	-13.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.86	$1.66	-10.9%
Average			-7.6%

Oakland vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.2% more for transportation

	Oakland	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.87	$3.80	-22.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$127.30	$132.50	+4.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,536.00	$35,000.00	+48.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.66	$22.40	+14.0%
Average			+11.2%

Oakland vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.4% more for housing

	Oakland	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.19	$68.20	+4.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,199.50	$4,097.13	+86.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,812.50	$2,883.17	+59.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$213.87	$136.26	-36.3%
Average			+28.4%

Oakland vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 37.5% more for childcare

	Oakland	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,738.89	$3,253.56	+18.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$37,770.00	$59,000.00	+56.2%
Average			+37.5%

Oakland vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 84.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Oakland	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.00	$9.00	+12.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.64	$5.95	+5.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.00	$17.00	+54.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.99	$148.06	+323.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.00	$20.00	+25.0%
Average			+84.1%

Oakland vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.1% more for clothing

	Oakland	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.43	$68.92	+12.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.08	$45.62	+1.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.32	$107.85	+3.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$131.92	$168.36	+27.6%
Average			+11.1%

Oakland vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

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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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