Cost of living comparison

 Poland
compared to
 California, USA
California vs. Poland Cost of Living Summary

California is 2.5 times more expensive than Poland overall.

Restaurants
pay 74.2% more in California
Groceries
pay 2.6 times more in California
Transportation
pay 64.4% more in California
Housing
pay 3.5 times more in California
Childcare
pay 5.2 times more in California
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.1 times more in California
Clothing
pay 6.8% more in California

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

California vs. Poland Cost Breakdown

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

pay 74.2% more for restaurants

 
Poland
California
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.88
PLN34.17
$21.02
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.49
PLN28.85
$11.52
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.74
PLN6.70
$2.71
 

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pay 2.6 times more for groceries

 
Poland
California
Bread
1 loaf
$1.18
PLN4.56
$4.14
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.31
PLN16.58
$6.95
 
Milk (1 gallon) $3.58
PLN13.79
$4.61
 

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pay 64.4% more for transportation

 
Poland
California
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.07
PLN23.37
$4.83
 
Monthly public transit pass $28.33
PLN109.06
$62.05
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,111.92
PLN115,918.29
$30,005.28
 

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pay 3.5 times more for housing

 
Poland
California
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$14.40
PLN55.45
$68.54
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $601.98
PLN2,317.36
$2,371.29
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $478.28
PLN1,841.16
$2,055.18
 

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pay 5.2 times more for childcare

 
Poland
California
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $318.05
PLN1,224.36
$1,682.51
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $6,011.28
PLN23,140.92
$30,905.75
 

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Poland
California
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.12
PLN12.01
$7.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.04
PLN11.72
$5.34
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.55
PLN17.50
$10.91
 

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pay 6.8% more for clothing

 
Poland
California
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$75.63
PLN291.15
$52.77
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$35.26
PLN135.72
$40.15
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$78.29
PLN301.40
$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: March 2025
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