Cost of living comparison

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

San Diego is 0.3% more expensive than San Jose.

Restaurants
pay 0.1% more in San Diego
Groceries
pay 15.0% less in San Diego
Transportation
pay 1.9% more in San Diego
Housing
pay 1.0% more in San Diego
Childcare
pay 11.8% less in San Diego
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.9% less in San Diego
Clothing
pay 29.6% more in San Diego

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

San Diego vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

pay 0.1% more for restaurants

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

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pay 15.0% less for groceries

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

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pay 1.9% more for transportation

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

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pay 1.0% more for housing

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

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pay 11.8% less for childcare

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

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pay 3.9% less for entertainment and sports

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

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pay 29.6% more for clothing

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

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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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