Cost of living comparison

 San Diego (CA), United States
compared to
 San Jose (CA), United States
San Jose vs. San Diego Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 3.2% more expensive than San Diego.

Restaurants
pay 0.4% more in San Jose
Groceries
pay 23.4% more in San Jose
Transportation
pay 0.1% more in San Jose
Housing
pay 0.5% less in San Jose
Childcare
pay 13.7% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.7% more in San Jose
Clothing
pay 20.5% less in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. San Diego Cost Breakdown

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

pay 0.4% more for restaurants

 
San Diego
San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $21.50
 
$20.50
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.00
 
$11.50
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.64
 
$3.00
 

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pay 23.4% more for groceries

 
San Diego
San Jose
Bread
1 loaf
$4.20
 
$4.70
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.34
 
$7.98
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.38
 
$5.09
 

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pay 0.1% more for transportation

 
San Diego
San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.15
 
$4.85
 
Monthly public transit pass $72.00
 
$90.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,376.95
 
$30,530.00
 

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pay 0.5% less for housing

 
San Diego
San Jose
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$70.11
 
$69.56
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,839.47
 
$2,878.75
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $2,284.17
 
$2,481.25
 

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pay 13.7% more for childcare

 
San Diego
San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,754.29
 
$1,883.33
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $21,666.67
 
$26,000.00
 

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pay 5.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
San Diego
San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $8.00
 
$9.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.41
 
$5.84
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.06
 
$11.50
 

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pay 20.5% less for clothing

 
San Diego
San Jose
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$58.49
 
$43.90
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$59.66
 
$36.12
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$91.33
 
$79.42
 

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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: July 2025
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