Los Angeles vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Los Angeles	New York City
🚶 Cost of living one person	$3420	$4202
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$7800	$9189
🏠 One person rent	$2177	$2718
🏘️ Family rent	$3742	$4417
🍽️ Food expenses	$761	$842
🚐 Transport expenses	$263	$400
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$4482	$5389
😷 Air quality	Good	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	17 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	99	100
😀 Quality of life	93	95
🏙️ Population	3.9M	8.8M

The cost of living in Los Angeles is 19% less expensive than in New York City. Cities ranked 62nd and 4th ($3420 vs $4202) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 47th and 1st in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months in Los Angeles compared to 1.3 months in New York City. Ranked 8th vs 2nd best cities to live in the United States, and 50th vs 15th 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/los-angeles/new-york.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Los Angeles vs New York City infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/los-angeles/new-york" target="_blank">Los Angeles vs New York City - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Los Angeles vs New York City

Prices for goods and services in Los Angeles and New York City are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Los Angeles	New York City
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$22.4	$22.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$104	$90
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$14.1	$13.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$8.92	$8.3
☕ Cappuccino	$6.66	$6.22
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$3.53	$3.28
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$2356	$3692
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$1856	$2206
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$4109	$5140
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3268	$3874
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$152	$144
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$236	$218
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$69.2	$70.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	6.28%	6.31%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$8186	$18073
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$7185	$7831
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.76	$3.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$95.5	$138
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.5	$27
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.37	$1.02
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.32	$1.44
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$4.33	$4.07
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.26	$5.67
🥚 Eggs, x12	$6.59	$6.75
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.1	$16.6
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$14.3	$14.6
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$20.4	$18.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.08	$6.3
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.46	$2.24
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.3	$5.79
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.19	$6.72
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.89	$3.21
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.91	$3.96
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.67	$1.67
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$3.57	$3.57
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$15.3	$19.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.99	$4.61
🚬 Cigarette pack	$12.9	$18.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$9.24	$23.4
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$6.99	$14
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$5.99	$8.02
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$2.92	$2.86
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$70.1	$132
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$18.2	$21.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$164	$159
💇 Haircut, simple	$29.5	$40.5
👖 Brand Jeans	$80.1	$61.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$110	$115
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$1748	$2095
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$23685	$21713

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Los Angeles

Distance	City	Cost of living
8.1 km or 5 mi	Huntington Park	$2945
8.9 km or 5.5 mi	Maywood	$2888
9.2 km or 5.7 mi	Florence-Graham	$2945
10 km or 6.2 mi	Bell	$2868
10 km or 6.2 mi	Monterey Park	$2786
11 km or 6.6 mi	Alhambra	$3031
11 km or 6.6 mi	South Pasadena	$3020
11 km or 7 mi	Cudahy	$2866
12 km or 7.6 mi	San Gabriel	$3184
12 km or 7.7 mi	Bell Gardens	$2798
12 km or 7.8 mi	West Hollywood	$3055
13 km or 7.8 mi	Montebello	$2826
13 km or 8 mi	South Gate	$2867
13 km or 8.2 mi	Glendale	$3717
14 km or 8.8 mi	Inglewood	$3066
15 km or 9 mi	Beverly Hills	$2945
15 km or 9.1 mi	Lynwood	$2880
15 km or 9.3 mi	Rosemead	$2868
15 km or 9.5 mi	Culver	$3054
15 km or 9.6 mi	Pasadena	$3802
16 km or 9.9 mi	Pico Rivera	$2818
16 km or 10 mi	Burbank	$3369
16 km or 10 mi	Downey	$2766
17 km or 11 mi	Compton	$2922
18 km or 11 mi	La Canada Flintridge	$3179
18 km or 11 mi	Hawthorne	$3139
18 km or 11 mi	Temple	$2909
18 km or 11 mi	South El Monte	$2849
18 km or 11 mi	West Whittier-Los Nietos	$2826
18 km or 11 mi	Paramount	$2793
19 km or 12 mi	Gardena	$3076
20 km or 12 mi	El Monte	$2858
21 km or 13 mi	Lawndale	$3243
21 km or 13 mi	Arcadia	$3020
21 km or 13 mi	Bellflower	$2758
22 km or 14 mi	Norwalk	$2694
22 km or 14 mi	Santa Monica	$3654
22 km or 14 mi	Whittier	$2835
23 km or 15 mi	Manhattan Beach	$3295
24 km or 15 mi	Carson	$3000

Cities near New York City

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi	Astoria	$2940
11 km or 6.8 mi	Hoboken	$3729
11 km or 7.1 mi	Jersey	$3110
13 km or 8.3 mi	Union	$3145
14 km or 8.8 mi	West New York	$2842
14 km or 8.9 mi	Bayonne	$3304
15 km or 9.6 mi	North Bergen	$2840
17 km or 10 mi	Secaucus	$2917
17 km or 11 mi	Cliffside Park	$2795
18 km or 11 mi	Kearny	$2791
20 km or 12 mi	Valley Stream	$2820
20 km or 13 mi	Fort Lee	$2821
20 km or 13 mi	Lyndhurst	$2707
22 km or 14 mi	Newark	$2797
23 km or 14 mi	Elizabeth	$2805
23 km or 14 mi	Belleville	$2545
25 km or 15 mi	Hillside	$2725
25 km or 15 mi	Long Beach	$2823
25 km or 15 mi	Nutley	$2540
25 km or 16 mi	East Orange	$2557
25 km or 16 mi	Irvington	$2665
26 km or 16 mi	Rockville Centre	$2700
26 km or 16 mi	Linden	$2791
26 km or 16 mi	Hackensack	$2692
26 km or 16 mi	Bloomfield	$2485
26 km or 16 mi	Teaneck	$2697
26 km or 16 mi	Carteret	$2775
26 km or 16 mi	Passaic	$2614
27 km or 17 mi	Roselle	$2779
27 km or 17 mi	Hempstead	$2710
28 km or 17 mi	Union Township	$2729
28 km or 18 mi	Clifton	$2669
28 km or 18 mi	Maplewood	$2634
29 km or 18 mi	Montclair	$2450
29 km or 18 mi	Bergenfield	$2713
29 km or 18 mi	Mount Vernon	$2863
30 km or 18 mi	Rahway	$2762
30 km or 18 mi	Uniondale	$2694
30 km or 18 mi	West Orange	$2488
30 km or 18 mi	New Rochelle	$3192