Cape Town vs San Diego - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town San Diego
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1120
$3346
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2628
$7719
🏠 One person rent
$603
$2248
🏘️ Family rent
$1117
$4052
🍽️ Food expenses
$284
$722
🚐 Transport expenses
$137
$185
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1545
$5772
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
3 km
🎓 Higher education
55
87
😀 Quality of life
59
92
🏙️ Population
3.78M
1.39M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 67% less expensive than in San Diego. Cities ranked 4849th and 45th ($1120 vs $3346) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 36th 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 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 1.7 months in San Diego. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs San Diego ranked 12th in the United States, while ranked 5407th and 75th 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
$7.8
$20.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34
$85.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.15
$12.9
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.53
$8.25
☕ Cappuccino
$2.32
$5.51
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.04
$2.62
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$705
$2399
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$452
$1894
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1367
$4351
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$889
$3534
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$59
$184
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$91.3
$286
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$41.1
$69.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
6.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1902
$9294
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1292
$7063
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.14
$2.52
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$45.3
$72.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.91
$20.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.36
$1.38
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.1
$1.16
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.07
$3.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$3.91
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.67
$4.72
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.88
$15
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.96
$14.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.13
$18.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.58
$4.96
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.61
$1.69
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.51
$3.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$5.11
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$2.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$2.34
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.66
$1.6
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$3.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.57
$18.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.42
$3.1
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.99
$11.3
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.24
$16.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.42
$10.9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.24
$5.94
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.59
$2.98
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$36.2
$72.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.5
$18
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$38.2
$132
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.4
$28
👖 Brand Jeans
$52.1
$56.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$99.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$201
$1752
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4270
$21468

Cost of living in other countries

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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
$850
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$649
371 km or 231 mi George
$790
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$901
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$970
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$741
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$792
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$953
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$859
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1286
882 km or 548 mi East London
$703
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$696
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$581
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$627
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$862
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$774
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$832
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$788
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$689
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$809
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$717
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$779
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$692
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$690
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$717
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$971
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$943
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$718
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$654
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1079
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$874
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$840
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$997
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$834
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$818
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$790

Cities near San Diego

Distance City Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Coronado
$2973
7.2 km or 4.5 mi National
$2877
13 km or 7.8 mi Lemon Grove
$2783
14 km or 9 mi Chula Vista
$2893
14 km or 9 mi La Mesa
$2775
16 km or 9.8 mi Imperial Beach
$2786
18 km or 11 mi La Jolla
$2821
21 km or 13 mi El Cajon
$2936
24 km or 15 mi Tijuana
$1050
25 km or 15 mi Santee
$2799
30 km or 19 mi Poway
$2765
38 km or 24 mi Encinitas
$2853
40 km or 25 mi Las Delicias
$922
43 km or 26 mi Rosarito Beach
$922
46 km or 29 mi Escondido
$2795
47 km or 30 mi San Marcos
$2718
52 km or 33 mi Carlsbad
$2997
54 km or 33 mi Vista
$2783
57 km or 36 mi Oceanside
$2926
73 km or 46 mi Fallbrook
$2767
88 km or 55 mi Temecula
$2579
91 km or 57 mi San Clemente
$2886
95 km or 59 mi Murrieta
$3006
97 km or 61 mi Dana Point
$2828
98 km or 61 mi French Valley
$2650
99 km or 61 mi San Juan Capistrano
$2842
99 km or 61 mi Wildomar
$2717
104 km or 65 mi Laguna Niguel
$3001
107 km or 66 mi Laguna Beach
$2928
107 km or 67 mi Menifee
$2587
109 km or 68 mi Ensenada
$912
109 km or 68 mi Lake Elsinore
$2654
110 km or 68 mi Mission Viejo
$3444
110 km or 69 mi Laguna Hills
$3035
111 km or 69 mi Rancho Santa Margarita
$2950
114 km or 71 mi Aliso Viejo
$3330
114 km or 71 mi Lake Forest
$3047
115 km or 72 mi Hemet
$2789
119 km or 74 mi Perris
$2595
119 km or 74 mi Temescal Valley
$2647