F
72%
Overall NAT. AVG.
14%
Goods & Services NAT. AVG.
192%
Housing NAT. AVG.
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Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.
The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index San Leandro California National
Cost of living172140100
Goods & Services114111100
Groceries117112100
Health care121109100
Housing292196100
Transportation129126100
Utilities134127100

An Overview of Cost of Living in San Leandro, CA

Knowing the cost of living in San Leandro allows individuals to create a realistic budget. This helps them understand how their income will cover expenses and whether they need to make financial adjustments. The cost of living in any region can fluctuate due to various factors. To assess the cost of living consistently across different areas, a national average of 100 serves as the basis for the cost of living index. The cost of living in San Leandro stands at 172, marking it 72% higher than the national average.

If affordability is among your top priorities when searching for a new place to live, this area may not be the ideal fit, as the cost of living in San Leandro is among the most expensive in the United States. Just a minority of areas exhibit a cost of living at least 20% higher than the national average, and unfortunately, San Leandro falls into this category, which may not align with your goal of finding a budget-friendly living environment.

Housing costs make up a big chunk of the cost of living in San Leandro, and they usually eat into a large part of your take-home pay. Unfortunately, in this area, both buying a home and renting one costs 192.4% more than the average city. This includes stuff like home prices, rent, mortgage rates, and insurance.

Goods and services make up 33% of the total cost of living index score and are a large part of your everyday expenses. These items could include things like haircuts, salons, toothpaste, shampoo, clothes, movies, bowling, gym memberships or yoga. In San Leandro, you can expect to pay 14.1% more than average for these items, making it a more expensive place to live.

The relentless increase in grocery prices is a noteworthy trend. In the last two years, grocery costs have experienced an upward trajectory of over 10%. Unfortunately, San Leandro is no exception, where grocery prices are 17.2% above the national average.

What Do Locals Say About the Cost of Living in San Leandro?

The real experts on a city are its residents. That's why we reached out to 22 locals to get their views on the cost of living in San Leandro. We surveyed the residents and asked them if they felt like prices were affordable or out of reach. The results were as follows. 5% found it budget-friendly with decreasing prices, while 95% said it's simply not affordable as prices have continued to rise.

Is San Leandro Affordable?

Is San Leandro an affordable place to live? That's a valid question to ask when you're thinking about moving to a new city. After all, how much it costs to live somewhere can be a huge factor in your decision. Affordability can be broken down into 3 common categories. The cost of living index (we talked about it earlier), housing expenses and income levels all play a big role in figuring out if a place is affordable. For instance, in San Leandro, the median home price is 238.3% higher than what most folks pay across the country, and monthly rent prices are 85.4% higher than the usual rates. Income levels in San Leandro come in at $86,604, which is 56.5% higher than the national average.

What Factors can Influence the Cost of Living in San Leandro?

Utilities: As with the prices of anything else, utility costs can exhibit significant variations, contingent on factors like climate, energy source availability, geographic location and state regulations. The expenses associated with electricity, water, heating, and waste disposal can fluctuate, either upward or downward, depending on the particular city or state. In San Leandro, the utilities index registers 33.7% higher than the national average.

Urbanization: Urban areas with extensive amenities and job opportunities tend to have a higher cost of living due to increased demand for services and relocation, resulting in higher home prices and higher rents. Less densely populated rural areas, or areas with less demand tend to have fewer amenities and slower job growth, which results in a lower cost of living.

Taxes: Areas with higher taxes, including sales taxes and income taxes, can contribute to a higher cost of living. Paying more tax for everyday goods and services like clothing and food will result in higher costs, as will paying a higher rate of income tax. The general sales tax rate in San Leandro starts at 7.25% and the income tax rates start at 1%.

Where is the Data From?

The San Leandro cost of living data displayed above is derived from the C2ER cost of living index to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure of living cost differences in urban areas. The index takes into account data from 300 independent researches, covering more than 60 goods and services across 6 different categories, to create an overall index for each area, with 100 being the average. The C2ER index does not include sales or income tax rates in their data, however AreaVibes does include both income and sales tax rates in the overall cost of living score for each area.

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

  • The cost of living in San Leandro is 23% higher than the California average
  • The cost of living in San Leandro is 72% higher than the national average
  • San Leandro housing is 192% higher than the national average
  • California general sales tax is 42% higher than the national average
  • California state income tax is 61% lower than the national average

Most Affordable Places to Live in and Around San Leandro

See all the best places to live around San Leandro

Compare San Leandro, CA Cost of Living

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      Salary Calculator

      This is how much you would need to earn in
      Price difference in compared to
      Cost of living index
      Goods & Services index
      Groceries index
      Health care index
      Housing index
      Transportation index
      Utilities index

      Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

      Median Income Per Year Per Month Max Budget (28% DTI) Max Budget (36% DTI)
      Owners$104,818$8,735$2,446$3,145
      Renters$66,412$5,534$1,550$1,993
      The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in San Leandro, CA, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for San Leandro homeowners, is $104,818. This would allow for a maximum of $2,446 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $66,412 which would result in a maximum of $1,550 to be spent on rental costs.

      California Sales Tax

      State General Sales Tax With Max Surtax
      California 7.25% 10.5%

      California Income Tax

      State Income Tax (Low) Income Tax (High)
      California 1% 13.3%

      Goods & Services

      Item San Leandro National avg. Difference
      Haircut $25.00$24.263.0%
      Beauty Salon $76.00$45.5666.8%
      Toothpaste $3.64$3.701.7%
      Shampoo $1.45$1.2813.5%
      Movie $16.46$12.1335.7%
      Bowling $27.22$18.0051.2%

      Groceries

      Item San Leandro National avg. Difference
      Ground Beef $5.70$5.842.3%
      Fried Chicken $3.43$1.57118.2%
      Milk $4.91$4.675.1%
      Potatoes $4.87$4.931.3%
      Pizza $13.49$12.0911.6%
      Beer $11.18$10.417.4%

      Health Care

      Item San Leandro National avg. Difference
      Optometrist $137.40$125.689.3%
      Doctor $110.00$135.7819.0%
      Dentist $118.27$113.294.4%
      Ibuprofen $11.76$10.6510.4%
      Lipitor $508.17$468.608.4%

      Housing

      Item San Leandro National avg. Difference
      Home Price $624,900.00$184,700.00238.3%
      Avg. Mortgage Payment $6,553.90$2,346.69179.3%
      Apartment Rent $1,759.00$949.0085.4%

      Transportation

      Item San Leandro National avg. Difference
      Gasoline $4.60$3.4633.0%
      Tire Balancing $60.97$59.921.7%

      Utilities

      Item San Leandro National avg. Difference
      All Electricity $182.51$193.995.9%
      Phone $180.31$192.256.2%
      Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

      Nearby cities with low cost of living

      City Population Cost of Living Index National Avg.
      San Miguel CDP (San Luis Obispo County), CA2,69612928.9%
      El Cerrito CDP, CA5,69914039.6%
      Cherryland, CA15,97615858.3%
      Ashland, CA23,56616463.8%
      Emeryville, CA11,67916968.9%
      San Leandro, CA90,48917271.8%

      Cities with similar population

      City Population Cost of Living Index National Avg.
      Bellingham, WA90,82113837.6%
      Westminster, CA90,85716464.4%
      Toms River, NJ90,08112322.5%
      Santa Barbara, CA90,911221121.3%
      Indio, CA89,99612323.3%
      San Leandro, CA90,48917271.8%
      Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.