San Diego vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

San Diego Seattle
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3469
$3162
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7890
$7446
🏠 One person rent
$2370
$1981
🏘️ Family rent
$4148
$3407
🍽️ Food expenses
$726
$810
🚐 Transport expenses
$179
$169
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5254
$6556
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
3 km
9 km
🎓 Higher education
86
80
😀 Quality of life
93
93
🏙️ Population
1.39M
737K

The cost of living in San Diego is 10% more expensive than in Seattle. Cities ranked 43rd and 125th ($3469 vs $3162) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 33rd and 92nd in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in San Diego compared to 2.1 months in Seattle. Ranked 26th vs 27th best cities to live in the United States, and 97th vs 99th among the best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in San Diego vs Seattle infographic

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Prices in San Diego vs Seattle

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

San Diego Seattle
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$21.5
$22.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$85.1
$104
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$15.1
$14.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.63
$8.17
 Cappuccino
$6.32
$6
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.03
$3.04
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2499
$2119
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2053
$1641
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4569
$3861
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3654
$2873
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$156
$169
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$240
$260
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$71
$76
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.43%
6.52%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9580
$6864
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7151
$5184
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.49
$3
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$71
$107
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$19.6
$18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.25
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.26
$1.37
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.92
$4.82
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.92
$4.75
🥚 Eggs, x12
$6.16
$7.26
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.2
$22.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.1
$16.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$20.3
$21.7
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.5
$6.07
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.74
$2.71
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.03
$5.36
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.81
$5.77
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.56
$3.16
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.37
$3.35
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.58
$1.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.26
$3.36
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$16.6
$18
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.91
$3.72
🚬 Cigarette pack
$12.3
$12.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$14.9
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$9.97
$8.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$5.53
$5.94
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.47
$2.31
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$63.1
$74.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17.9
$15.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$131
$148
💇 Haircut, simple
$30.4
$28.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.2
$69.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$108
$112
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1745
$2178
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$28967
$29883

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near San Diego

Distance City Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Coronado
$3195
7.2 km or 4.5 mi National
$3013
13 km or 7.8 mi Lemon Grove
$2932
14 km or 9 mi Chula Vista
$2972
14 km or 9 mi La Mesa
$2943
16 km or 9.8 mi Imperial Beach
$2909
18 km or 11 mi La Jolla
$2996
21 km or 13 mi El Cajon
$2988
24 km or 15 mi Tijuana
$1210
25 km or 15 mi Santee
$2887
30 km or 19 mi Poway
$2922
38 km or 24 mi Encinitas
$3066
40 km or 25 mi Las Delicias
$1063
43 km or 26 mi Rosarito Beach
$1055
46 km or 29 mi Escondido
$3215
47 km or 30 mi San Marcos
$2931
52 km or 33 mi Carlsbad
$3252
54 km or 33 mi Vista
$2930
57 km or 36 mi Oceanside
$3274
73 km or 46 mi Fallbrook
$2873
88 km or 55 mi Temecula
$2681
91 km or 57 mi San Clemente
$2967
95 km or 59 mi Murrieta
$3049
97 km or 61 mi Dana Point
$2994
98 km or 61 mi French Valley
$2715
99 km or 61 mi San Juan Capistrano
$3057
99 km or 61 mi Wildomar
$2776
104 km or 65 mi Laguna Niguel
$3490
107 km or 66 mi Laguna Beach
$3075
107 km or 67 mi Menifee
$2626
109 km or 68 mi Ensenada
$903
109 km or 68 mi Lake Elsinore
$2671
110 km or 68 mi Mission Viejo
$3585
110 km or 69 mi Laguna Hills
$3037
111 km or 69 mi Rancho Santa Margarita
$3014
114 km or 71 mi Aliso Viejo
$3450
114 km or 71 mi Lake Forest
$2539
115 km or 72 mi Hemet
$2742
119 km or 74 mi Perris
$2691
119 km or 74 mi Temescal Valley
$2782

Cities near Seattle

Distance City Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi Mercer Island
$2851
11 km or 6.5 mi Bellevue
$3313
14 km or 8.5 mi Kirkland
$2907
15 km or 9.2 mi Tukwila
$2644
15 km or 9.5 mi Burien
$2652
16 km or 10 mi Bainbridge Island
$2814
17 km or 10 mi Shoreline
$2723
17 km or 10 mi Renton
$2552
17 km or 11 mi Redmond
$3269
17 km or 11 mi Kenmore
$2674
19 km or 12 mi SeaTac
$2745
21 km or 13 mi Bothell
$2730
22 km or 14 mi Sammamish
$2812
22 km or 14 mi Edmonds
$2669
23 km or 14 mi Issaquah
$2741
24 km or 15 mi Des Moines
$2641
24 km or 15 mi Lynnwood
$2678
24 km or 15 mi Bremerton
$2525
26 km or 16 mi Kent
$2796
30 km or 19 mi Mill Creek
$2655
33 km or 20 mi Federal Way
$2523
34 km or 21 mi Maple Valley
$2609
35 km or 21 mi Mukilteo
$2632
35 km or 22 mi Auburn
$2295
41 km or 25 mi Everett
$2649
42 km or 26 mi Tacoma
$2461
46 km or 28 mi University Place
$2702
48 km or 30 mi Puyallup
$2782
50 km or 31 mi Lake Stevens
$2623
51 km or 32 mi Lakewood
$2473
52 km or 33 mi Marysville
$2603
57 km or 35 mi Spanaway
$2384
74 km or 46 mi Lacey
$2632
76 km or 47 mi Olympia
$2551
78 km or 48 mi Sequim
$2644
80 km or 50 mi Oak Harbor
$2762
90 km or 56 mi Mount Vernon
$2419
100 km or 62 mi Port Angeles
$2480
109 km or 68 mi Centralia
$2749
119 km or 74 mi Victoria
$2114