Cape Town vs San Diego - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town San Diego
🚶 Cost of living one person
$881
$3427
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2144
$7903
🏠 One person rent
$484
$2366
🏘️ Family rent
$966
$4375
🍽️ Food expenses
$259
$686
🚐 Transport expenses
$56.2
$192
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1518
$5439
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
3 km
🎓 Higher education
55
87
😀 Quality of life
60
91
🏙️ Population
434K
1.39M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 74% less expensive than in San Diego. Cities ranked 6078th and 26th ($881 vs $3427) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 23rd in South Africa and the United States, respectively. Check South Africa vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.7 months in Cape Town compared to 1.6 months in San Diego. Cape Town ranked 3rd best city to live in South Africa vs San Diego ranked 15th in the United States, while ranked 5406th and 107th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Cape Town vs San Diego infographic

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Prices in Cape Town vs San Diego

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

Cape Town San Diego
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$7.47
$20.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$31.2
$85.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.87
$12.1
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.04
$8.8
 Cappuccino
$1.94
$5.63
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.86
$2.87
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$536
$2498
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$353
$2064
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1202
$4740
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$749
$3919
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$56.2
$142
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$87
$218
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.2
$73.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
6.64%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1890
$11408
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1307
$8035
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.04
$2.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.8
$71.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.17
$22.2
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.22
$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1
$1.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.92
$3.69
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$3.92
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.39
$4.13
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.96
$12.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.26
$13.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.2
$19.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$4.46
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.46
$1.84
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$3.2
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$4.58
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$2.9
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.31
$2.18
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.58
$1.54
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.3
$2.64
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$4.51
$14.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.14
$2.13
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.62
$10.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.8
$16.1
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.76
$6.94
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.22
$4.91
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.36
$2.16
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$31.3
$79.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.42
$17.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32.9
$129
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.3
$22.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$42.7
$61.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$81.4
$95.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$172
$1701
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4013
$18429

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$773
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$632
371 km or 231 mi George
$684
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$805
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$866
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$643
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$704
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$703
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$753
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$710
882 km or 548 mi East London
$683
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$601
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$511
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$535
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$689
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$682
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$765
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$701
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$621
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$719
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$625
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$738
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$631
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$633
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$637
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$875
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$845
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$656
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$603
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$908
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$776
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$807
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$889
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$780
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$751
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$718

Cities near San Diego

Distance City Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Coronado
$3051
7.2 km or 4.5 mi National
$2907
13 km or 7.8 mi Lemon Grove
$2844
14 km or 9 mi Chula Vista
$2969
14 km or 9 mi La Mesa
$2868
16 km or 9.8 mi Imperial Beach
$2851
18 km or 11 mi La Jolla
$2867
21 km or 13 mi El Cajon
$2910
24 km or 15 mi Tijuana
$1184
25 km or 15 mi Santee
$2788
30 km or 19 mi Poway
$2784
38 km or 24 mi Encinitas
$2879
40 km or 25 mi Las Delicias
$1032
43 km or 26 mi Rosarito Beach
$1029
46 km or 29 mi Escondido
$2884
47 km or 30 mi San Marcos
$2722
52 km or 33 mi Carlsbad
$3046
54 km or 33 mi Vista
$2732
57 km or 36 mi Oceanside
$3094
73 km or 46 mi Fallbrook
$2709
88 km or 55 mi Temecula
$2597
91 km or 57 mi San Clemente
$3070
95 km or 59 mi Murrieta
$3155
97 km or 61 mi Dana Point
$2751
98 km or 61 mi French Valley
$2684
99 km or 61 mi San Juan Capistrano
$2681
99 km or 61 mi Wildomar
$2803
104 km or 65 mi Laguna Niguel
$2461
107 km or 66 mi Laguna Beach
$2755
107 km or 67 mi Menifee
$2637
109 km or 68 mi Ensenada
$1027
109 km or 68 mi Lake Elsinore
$2730
110 km or 68 mi Mission Viejo
$3513
110 km or 69 mi Laguna Hills
$2957
111 km or 69 mi Rancho Santa Margarita
$2960
114 km or 71 mi Aliso Viejo
$3180
114 km or 71 mi Lake Forest
$2944
115 km or 72 mi Hemet
$2879
119 km or 74 mi Perris
$2609
119 km or 74 mi Temescal Valley
$2606