Cost of Living in Los Angeles, 🇺🇸 United States - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 2 15 16 $3,700 $2,650 $4,300 $1,900 $195

Utilities 1 20 — $152 $380 $152 —

Internet & Mobile 1 6 19 $45 $114 $200 $114 $5

Groceries 1 17 18 $165 $640 $1,180 $485 $12

Transportation 3 4 12 21 $383 $620 $920 $110 $55

Dining Out 1 16 $1,275 $620 $880 $245 $98

Leisure Activities 1 23 29 $420 $330 $4,520 $141 $42

Health Insurance 10 11 $63 $495 $1,180 $385 —

Visa & Legal Fees 13 14 — $50 $50 — —

Total $6,051 $5,671 $13,610 $3,532 $407

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 2 $2,380.00 $1,856 – $2,800 per month

Coworking Space 8 $289.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 2 15 $3,900.00 $3,200 – $4,800 per month

Coliving Space 9 $1,650.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 1 22 $6.66 per cup

Beer 1 $8.92 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 1 16 $22.40 per meal

Fast Food Combo 1 18 $14.10 per meal

Apples 18 1 $5.08 per kg

Bread 1 18 $4.33 per loaf

Milk 17 1 $1.32 per liter

Rice 1 18 $4.26 per kg

Chicken Fillets 17 1 $14.30 per kg

Beef 17 1 $20.40 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 1 18 $15.30 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 1 16 $104.00 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 1 $2.50 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 12 $3.65 per trip

Taxi per km 12 $2.18 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 3 $110.00 per month

Gasoline 21 5 $1.59 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 1 12 $19.50 per trip

Scooter Rental 4 $7.00 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 6 7 $45.00 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 19 $69.20 per month

Gym Membership 1 29 $70.10 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 23 $14.00 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 6 $50.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 33 $18.00 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 26 1 $80.10 per pair

Summer Dress 28 1 $48.00 per dress

Running Shoes 27 1 $110.00 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 22 1 $29.50 per visit

Laundry 31 32 $1.52 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 1 24 25 $164.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 30 1 $9.24 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, Hanoi, London

Livingcost LA groceries, meals, utilities, transport Oct 2026Index
Zumper LA 1BR USD 2,050; median USD 2,495 Oct 2026Listings
Metro EZ transit base pass USD 110/monthOfficial
Metro base fare USD 1.75; daily cap USD 5; 7-day cap USD 18Official
California gasoline ~USD 1.51/litre Oct 2026Index
T-Mobile prepaid unlimited USD 45/mo with AutoPayOfficial
Visible unlimited USD 25/moOfficial
WeWork LA coworking membership from USD 289/moListings
Cohaus West Adams coliving private rooms USD 1,250–1,700/moListings
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
KFF 2025 employer single premium benchmarkSecondary
LADOT final taximeter rates 2025: USD 3.65 flag, USD 3.51/mileOfficial
CBP ESTA / Visa Waiver ProgramOfficial
State Dept B visitor visa application USD 185Official
Furnished Finder LA monthly 1BR furnished USD 1,950–4,800 Oct 2026Listings
Mid-range LA hotels ~USD 176–295/night Oct 2026Secondary
USDA ERS/BLS retail milk, chicken breast, round steak Sept 2026Official
Ralphs via Instacart LA grocery shelf prices Oct 2026Listings
Spectrum Internet 100–500 Mbps from USD 30–40/mo promo year oneOfficial
LADWP residential utilities ~USD 508/mo at 1,000 kWh Oct 2026Secondary
EIA LA regular gasoline USD 6.021/gal week of 19 Oct 2026Official
Fresha LA men's haircuts USD 20–65 at listed barbersListings
LA Parks pay tennis USD 14/hr weekends; USD 10/hr weekday before 4pmOfficial
MDsave LA-region new-patient PCP USD 95–791Listings
MinuteClinic Virtual Care USD 89 cash payOfficial
Target Levi's 501 jeans USD 52.49 sale / USD 74.99 listListings
Target running shoes USD 40–140 Oct 2026Listings
Target Wild Fable summer dress USD 16.50 clearanceListings
YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles membership (location-specific pricing)Official
CVS ibuprofen 200mg tablets from USD 5.49Listings
LA wash-and-fold median USD 1.80/lb Oct 2026Listings
Rosie Wash and Fold LA coin laundry and wash-fold USD 1.99/lbListings
LA Times: AMC LA standard adult weekend ~USD 18; premium USD 25–30Secondary

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 4800 3900
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 2950 2380
- Apples 3.1 5.08
- Beef 18.25 20.4
- Beer 9 8.92
40 more changes
- Bread 4.5 4.33
- Chicken Fillets 13.5 14.3
- Cinema Ticket 19.5 18
- Coffee 6.25 6.66
- Coliving Space 1750 1650
- Coworking Space 425 289
- Dining Out local 220, nomad 1250, expat 550, family 800, tourist 90 local 245, nomad 1275, expat 620, family 880, tourist 98
- Doctor Visit (GP) 165 164
- Fast Food Combo 14.5 14.1
- Gasoline 1.45 1.59
- Groceries local 450, nomad 250, expat 600, family 1350, tourist 10 local 485, nomad 165, expat 640, family 1180, tourist 12
- Gym Membership 60 70.1
- Haircut 65 29.5
- Health Insurance local 350, nomad 75, expat 420, family 1150, tourist 5 local 385, nomad 63, expat 495, family 1180, tourist 0
- Housing local 1750, nomad 3400, expat 2450, family 4200, tourist 185 local 1900, nomad 3700, expat 2650, family 4300, tourist 195
- Internet & Mobile local 110, nomad 140, expat 130, family 210, tourist 8 local 114, nomad 45, family 200, tourist 5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 85 69.2
- Jeans 75 80.1
- Laundry 4.5 1.52
- Leisure Activities local 150, nomad 400, expat 350, family 600, tourist 40 local 141, nomad 420, expat 330, family 4520, tourist 42
- Meal (Inexpensive) 22 22.4
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 110 104
- Milk 5.25 1.32
- Mobile Plan 65 45
- Monthly Transport Pass 100 110
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 15 9.24
- Rice 2.9 4.26
- Ride-hailing (5km) 18 19.5
- Running Shoes 115 110
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 45 50
- Scooter Rental 8.5 7
- Summer Dress 55 48
- Taxi Start 4 3.65
- Taxi per km 1.95 2.18
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 15 14
- Transportation local 100, nomad 450, expat 550, family 900, tourist 45 local 110, nomad 383, expat 620, family 920, tourist 55
- Utilities local 160, nomad 0, expat 220, family 380, tourist 0 local 152, nomad 0, family 380, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 50, family 100 local 0, expat 50, family 50
- Water (1.5L bottle) 2.75 2.5
- Wine (Mid-range) 19 15.3
Tennis Court (Weekend), Gasoline, Leisure Activities (local), and Coworking Space updated with LA Parks pay tennis USD 14/hr, EIA LA gasoline, and WeWork LA membership pricing (laparks.org, eia.gov, wework.com)

Los Angeles cost of living