Cost of living comparison

 Palo Alto (CA), United States
compared to
 San Mateo (CA), United States
San Mateo vs. Palo Alto Cost of Living Summary

San Mateo is 1.8% more expensive than Palo Alto.

Restaurants
pay 5.6% less in San Mateo
Groceries
pay 13.6% more in San Mateo
Transportation
pay 7.1% less in San Mateo
Housing
pay 15.2% less in San Mateo
Childcare
pay 1.3% more in San Mateo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.1% more in San Mateo
Clothing
pay 22.4% more in San Mateo

The cost of clothing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and childcare in San Mateo are more expensive than in Palo Alto. Expenses including housing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in San Mateo.

San Mateo vs. Palo Alto Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Mateo instead of Palo Alto, you would:

pay 5.6% less for restaurants

 
Palo Alto
San Mateo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $27.50
 
$24.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.50
 
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $3.00
 
$2.75
 

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pay 13.6% more for groceries

 
Palo Alto
San Mateo
Bread
1 loaf
$5.22
 
$4.59
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.45
 
$8.82
 
Milk (1 gallon) $5.33
 
$5.42
 

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pay 7.1% less for transportation

 
Palo Alto
San Mateo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.85
 
$4.77
 
Monthly public transit pass $90.00
 
$65.60
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,530.00
 
$23,536.00
 

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pay 15.2% less for housing

 
Palo Alto
San Mateo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$60.00
 
$60.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $3,397.50
 
$2,525.00
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $3,198.33
 
$2,800.00
 

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pay 1.3% more for childcare

 
Palo Alto
San Mateo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $2,705.00
 
$2,738.89
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $37,770.00
 
$37,770.00
 

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pay 3.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Palo Alto
San Mateo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.10
 
$5.00
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.00
 
$11.00
 

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pay 22.4% more for clothing

 
Palo Alto
San Mateo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$45.00
 
$62.33
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$36.12
 
$50.00
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$80.00
 
$85.00
 

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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: June 2025
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