Baltimore vs San Diego - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Baltimore	San Diego
🚶 Cost of living one person	$2224	$3486
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$5241	$7909
🏠 One person rent	$1309	$2368
🏘️ Family rent	$2141	$4139
🍽️ Food expenses	$623	$735
🚐 Transport expenses	$124	$181
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4251	$5217
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	97	86
😀 Quality of life	91	91
🏙️ Population	586K	1.39M

The cost of living in Baltimore is 36% less expensive than in San Diego. Cities ranked 1429th and 52nd ($2224 vs $3486) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1183rd and 39th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Baltimore compared to 1.5 months in San Diego. Ranked 29th vs 38th best cities to live in the United States, and 138th vs 155th among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/baltimore/san-diego.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Baltimore vs San Diego infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/baltimore/san-diego" target="_blank">Baltimore vs San Diego - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Baltimore vs San Diego

Prices for goods and services in Baltimore and San Diego are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Baltimore	San Diego
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$16.7	$22.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$79.9	$84.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$10.8	$15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$6.61	$8.97
☕ Cappuccino	$5.42	$6.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.08	$3.17
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1599	$2489
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$981	$2046
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$2089	$4508
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1812	$3643
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$127	$162
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$195	$251
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$77.8	$71.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.3%	6.31%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2495	$8050
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2320	$6577
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.01	$2.5
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$84.3	$71.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$15.4	$19.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.91	$1.37
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.05	$1.38
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$3.45	$4.32
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.95	$3.81
🥚 Eggs, x12	$4.62	$7.04
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$12.6	$16
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.7	$13.1
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.6	$20.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.14	$4.24
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.57	$1.77
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.05	$4.14
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.64	$4.77
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.42	$2.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.8	$2.63
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.57	$1.5
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.8	$3.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.3	$16.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.72	$3
🚬 Cigarette pack	$13.9	$12.2
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$8.05	$15.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.35	$9.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$3.74	$5.48
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.13	$2.47
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$51.6	$72.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$14.4	$19.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$123	$131
💇 Haircut, simple	$20.8	$30.2
👖 Brand Jeans	$52.6	$66.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$100	$112
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1730	$1937
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$18541	$22295

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Baltimore

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi	Catonsville	$2484
21 km or 13 mi	Owings Mills	$2603
23 km or 14 mi	Columbia	$2856
30 km or 19 mi	Laurel	$2377
31 km or 19 mi	Edgewood	$3012
32 km or 20 mi	Eldersburg	$2554
35 km or 22 mi	Bel Air South	$2787
36 km or 22 mi	Annapolis	$2862
37 km or 23 mi	Bel Air North	$2694
37 km or 23 mi	Bowie	$2596
40 km or 25 mi	Greenbelt	$2774
42 km or 26 mi	College Park	$3016
47 km or 29 mi	Silver Spring	$2223
52 km or 32 mi	Rockville	$2678
54 km or 34 mi	Bethesda	$2769
55 km or 34 mi	Gaithersburg	$2512
57 km or 35 mi	Washington	$3350
57 km or 36 mi	Georgetown	$3031
58 km or 36 mi	Germantown	$2695
65 km or 41 mi	Alexandria	$2913
66 km or 41 mi	Bailey's Crossroads	$2572
66 km or 41 mi	Hanover	$2275
71 km or 44 mi	Frederick	$2318
73 km or 45 mi	Reston	$2801
74 km or 46 mi	Springfield	$2367
75 km or 47 mi	Waldorf	$2508
75 km or 47 mi	Herndon	$2799
76 km or 47 mi	York	$2088
77 km or 48 mi	Fairfax	$2803
80 km or 50 mi	Ashburn	$2793
84 km or 52 mi	Leesburg	$2341
86 km or 54 mi	Newark	$2222
87 km or 54 mi	Centreville	$3338
88 km or 55 mi	Lancaster	$2095
91 km or 56 mi	Woodbridge	$2696
91 km or 57 mi	Marumsco	$2608
95 km or 59 mi	Dover	$2205
95 km or 59 mi	Manassas	$2379
98 km or 61 mi	Waynesboro	$2109
103 km or 64 mi	Hagerstown	$2037

Cities near San Diego

Distance	City	Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi	Coronado	$3269
7.2 km or 4.5 mi	National	$3094
13 km or 7.8 mi	Lemon Grove	$3023
14 km or 9 mi	Chula Vista	$3033
14 km or 9 mi	La Mesa	$2997
16 km or 9.8 mi	Imperial Beach	$2984
18 km or 11 mi	La Jolla	$3065
21 km or 13 mi	El Cajon	$3077
24 km or 15 mi	Tijuana	$1276
25 km or 15 mi	Santee	$2956
30 km or 19 mi	Poway	$3012
38 km or 24 mi	Encinitas	$3265
40 km or 25 mi	Las Delicias	$1126
43 km or 26 mi	Rosarito Beach	$1108
46 km or 29 mi	Escondido	$3274
47 km or 30 mi	San Marcos	$3008
52 km or 33 mi	Carlsbad	$3269
54 km or 33 mi	Vista	$3011
57 km or 36 mi	Oceanside	$3221
73 km or 46 mi	Fallbrook	$2984
88 km or 55 mi	Temecula	$2690
91 km or 57 mi	San Clemente	$2994
95 km or 59 mi	Murrieta	$3137
97 km or 61 mi	Dana Point	$3051
98 km or 61 mi	French Valley	$2799
99 km or 61 mi	San Juan Capistrano	$3075
99 km or 61 mi	Wildomar	$2850
104 km or 65 mi	Laguna Niguel	$3492
107 km or 66 mi	Laguna Beach	$3129
107 km or 67 mi	Menifee	$2646
109 km or 68 mi	Ensenada	$967
109 km or 68 mi	Lake Elsinore	$2663
110 km or 68 mi	Mission Viejo	$3520
110 km or 69 mi	Laguna Hills	$3064
111 km or 69 mi	Rancho Santa Margarita	$2984
114 km or 71 mi	Aliso Viejo	$3503
114 km or 71 mi	Lake Forest	$2598
115 km or 72 mi	Hemet	$2768
119 km or 74 mi	Perris	$2738
119 km or 74 mi	Temescal Valley	$2826