Cost of Living in San Diego

Summary about cost of living in San Diego, CA, United States:

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 20.00 $ 12.00-40.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 80.00 $ 60.00-150.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 10.00 $ 8.89-12.00
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 7.75 $ 4.50-10.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 8.00 $ 6.50-11.00
Cappuccino (regular) 5.26 $ 3.50-7.00
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 2.66 $ 2.00-3.99
Water (12 oz small bottle) 2.31 $ 1.75-4.00
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 4.26 $ 3.29-5.50
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 3.39 $ 1.99-5.00
Rice (white), (1 lb) 2.13 $ 0.99-5.00
Eggs (regular) (12) 5.40 $ 1.76-9.00
Local Cheese (1 lb) 6.41 $ 3.00-12.00
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 7.26 $ 2.99-13.99
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 8.17 $ 4.99-12.67
Apples (1 lb) 2.09 $ 0.91-3.00
Banana (1 lb) 0.93 $ 0.59-2.00
Oranges (1 lb) 1.56 $ 0.70-3.00
Tomato (1 lb) 1.74 $ 0.79-4.00
Potato (1 lb) 1.55 $ 0.50-3.01
Onion (1 lb) 1.11 $ 0.75-2.27
Lettuce (1 head) 2.02 $ 1.00-3.00
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 1.99 $ 0.99-3.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 12.00 $ 7.99-20.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 3.29 $ 1.43-4.29
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 3.16 $ 1.19-5.00
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 10.00 $ 9.00-15.00
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 2.50 $ 2.50-3.50
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 75.00 $ 72.00-89.00
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 2.80 $ 2.80-3.50
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 3.00 $ 2.75-3.00
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 28.99 $ 25.00-40.00
Gasoline (1 gallon) 5.51 $ 4.17-6.35
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 26,000.00 $ 24,000.00-29,000.00
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 23,255.44 $ 22,000.00-25,000.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 251.44 $ 130.33-400.00
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) 0.27 $ 0.20-0.33
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 78.85 $ 60.00-111.00
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 51.45 $ 24.99-99.00
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 32.54 $ 10.00-45.00
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 15.29 $ 12.00-20.00
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 1,375.00 $ 800.00-1,750.00
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 16,507.14 $ 6,000.00-23,000.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 58.28 $ 40.00-80.00
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 51.05 $ 25.00-85.00
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 95.39 $ 65.00-150.00
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 110.25 $ 75.00-199.00
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 2,702.50 $ 2,000.00-3,500.00
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 2,173.33 $ 1,600.00-2,750.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 4,666.46 $ 3,200.00-6,450.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 3,860.00 $ 3,000.00-5,000.00
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 927.97 $ 699.99-1,219.99
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 819.18 $ 516.91-1,099.99
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 5,589.83 $
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 5.34 3.25-6.00

Prices in San Diego, California

This city had 1114 entries in the past 12 months by 199 different contributors.
Last update: March 2023
Sources and References
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
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5 Comments so far
Richard DeRicardo on Dec 10, 2022:
San Diego, CA (less expensive!), I do not know where your getting that from; according to the prices on renting a house to own: There seems to be too much greed my friend. I am emailing you from Texas. I have plans to relocate to San Diego area as soon as my disability case is over. Houses, they're asking too much for a lot of those homes that to me, are not worth what they are demanding for rent.
Sincerely
Don on Jan 16, 2022:
Some details are "ok" - food, restaurants, etc. are around there. Rent is completely wrong. I have never seen ANY place either in city or just outside city under 3500 for three rooms. In fact, most places are over 4000 - and these are not special, millionaires-only places, but common places to live.
Zeno F Nolet BS, MRE on Oct 23, 2021:
We have a Socialist government in a monopoly holding both houses of the assembly and the White House and due to shortages of everything, across all levels, we have had and still are increasing prices on literally everything. Inflation is rampant and will change that even more drastically. Infrastructure needs major upgrades. Deficit spending and printing of money by the trillions will escalate inflation. Major changes coming!
Alvan on Mar 29, 2021:
How much is the price of living with a family per month?
marcus113 on May 30, 2019:
A lot of the above numbers are off especially on food where its much cheaper here in San Diego than mos of the US due to be in proximity of Mexico.

For example, potatoes are around $0.50/lb at practically every walmart in the entire county. Tomatoes are always around $1/lb. I havent seen $1.78 for tomatoes in more than a decade unless you only buy organic stuff at expensive retailers.

The variance band is always way off. For example, its very common to get tomatoes at $0.50/lb in the farmers markets and at the plethora of hispanic, asian and middle eastern markets all over the county. Brown potatoes are usually $0.20/lb and sometimes go down as low as $0.10/lb during the right season.

All the numbers are off, here are some real numbers if you go to a store right now:

Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant $7.00 $5.00-$10.00 (tons of options)

Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) $2.00 (walmart) $0.90-$4.00
Rice (white), (1 lb) $1.00 (costco/walmart) $0.50-$2.00
Eggs (regular) (12) $2.50 $0.50-$4.00
Local Cheese (1 lb) $2.75 (costco/walmart) $2.50-$7.00
Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1 lb) $2.50 (costco/walmart) $1.50-$4.00 (foreign markets)
Beef Round (1 lb) (Red Meat) $2.50 (foreign markets) $2.00-$6.00
Tomato (1 lb) $1.00 $0.50-$3.00 (foreign markets)
Potato (1 lb) $0.50 $0.10-$1.00 (foreign markets)
Onion (1 lb) $0.92 $0.20-$1.50 (red onion double)
Lettuce (1 head) $1.00 (costco/walmart) $0.50-$1.50 (foreign markets)
Water (1.5 liter bottle) $1.00 (costco/walmart) $0.75-$2.49
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) $5.00 (costo/traderJoe) $4.00-$15.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) $1.00 (costco/walmart) $1.00-$3.00
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) $1.25 (costco/walrmart) $0.75-$2.00

Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult $15.00 (Chuze/Crunch) $10-$50 (tons of options)

1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) $30.00 (costco/walmart) $20.00-$100
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store $20.00 (ross,khols) $10.00-$60
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) $25.00 (costco) $15-$150
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes $25.00 (costco/ross) $20-$200

Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre $1,974.61 $1,600-3,000
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre $1000.00 $700-$1900
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre $3,443.75 $2,600.00-$5,000
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre $2200.00 $1,600-$5,000

Price per Square Feet to Buy in City Centre $550.93 $300-$900
Price per Square Feet to Buy Outside of Centre $250 $150-$900

Again, the above numbers are current as of the day I wrote this. Note I am a real estate guy so I am sure about the real estate numbers.