California vs. Phoenix Cost of Living Summary

California is 35.4% more expensive than Phoenix.

Restaurants
pay 1.1% more in California
Groceries
pay 22.5% more in California
Transportation
pay 35.8% more in California
Housing
pay 19.1% more in California
Childcare
pay 2.2 times more in California
Entertainment and Sports
pay 42.3% more in California
Clothing
pay 3.8% more in California

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, housing, and clothing in California are more expensive than in Phoenix. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in California.

California vs. Phoenix Cost Breakdown

If you lived in California instead of Phoenix, you would:

pay 1.1% more for restaurants

 
Phoenix
California
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$21.02
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$11.52
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.66
 
$2.71
 

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pay 22.5% more for groceries

 
Phoenix
California
Bread
1 loaf
$3.79
 
$4.14
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.37
 
$6.95
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.36
 
$4.61
 

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pay 35.8% more for transportation

 
Phoenix
California
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.71
 
$4.83
 
Monthly public transit pass $47.50
 
$62.05
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,000.00
 
$30,005.28
 

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pay 19.1% more for housing

 
Phoenix
California
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$76.55
 
$68.54
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,604.10
 
$2,371.29
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,380.70
 
$2,055.18
 

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

 
Phoenix
California
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,125.00
 
$1,682.51
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,400.00
 
$30,905.75
 

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pay 42.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Phoenix
California
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.50
 
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.58
 
$5.34
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$9.89
 
$10.91
 

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pay 3.8% more for clothing

 
Phoenix
California
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$48.33
 
$52.77
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.33
 
$40.15
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$87.38
 
$85.15
 

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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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