Route comparison
Los Angeles, CA vs San Jose, CA: Cost of Living
Compare Los Angeles, CA and San Jose, CA using historical BEA 2024 price indexes and HUD FY2027 2-bedroom FMR benchmarks. Add your own salary, lease and moving quote to a budget summary.
Los Angeles, CA
CA
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 113.566
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 170.433
- 2024 goods RPP
- 106.623
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $2,964/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
San Jose, CA
CA
- 2024 overall RPP (US=100)
- 110.423
- 2024 housing-rent RPP
- 211.901
- 2024 goods RPP
- 105.168
- HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR
- $3,272/mo
City name is shorthand for an area benchmark. This September 2026 review did not recheck this area's full BEA/HUD geographic mapping.
Income tax and payroll deductions are not calculated. Confirm take-home pay for your work and home addresses separately.
Historical RPP salary illustration
In the BEA 2024 benchmark, San Jose, CA has a lower overall price level than Los Angeles, CA by about 2.8% (RPP 113.566 to 110.423).
$60,000 in Los Angeles, CA
-> $58,339
in San Jose, CA
$100,000 in Los Angeles, CA
-> $97,232
in San Jose, CA
$150,000 in Los Angeles, CA
-> $145,849
in San Jose, CA
Salary illustrations use BEA 2024 overall Regional Price Parities (RPP) only, before tax and household-specific adjustments. Overall RPP already includes housing. HUD FY2027 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent is a separate historical gross-rent benchmark, not a current lease or median rent. Do not add rent to the RPP salary figure. Your lease and moving quote belong in a separate budget. Not financial advice.
Step 2: what will the move itself cost?
Put your actual lease, deposit, overlap rent and mover quote beside the historical salary illustration. Leave amounts you do not yet know blank.
Migration signal: Los Angeles, CA vs San Jose, CA
IRS tax-return migration · 2022-2023Los Angeles, CA
- Net people
- −101,293
- Net rank
- #64 of 65
- Top origin share
- 12%
- Top destination share
- 14%
Largest source: San Bernardino County, CA. Largest destination: San Bernardino County, CA.
San Jose, CA
- Net people
- −19,801
- Net rank
- #58 of 65
- Top origin share
- 13%
- Top destination share
- 14%
Largest source: Alameda County, CA. Largest destination: Alameda County, CA.
Rent delta: San Jose, CA is $308/mo higher for HUD FY2027 2-BR FMR than Los Angeles, CA. Housing RPP moves from 170.433 to 211.901.
Migration figures are derived from IRS SOI county-to-county migration data for 2022-2023, mapped to metros via Census CBSA delineation. Small county-to-county flows are IRS-suppressed, so per-metro totals are lower bounds. Source: IRS SOI migration data.
Frequently asked questions
- Is San Jose, CA cheaper or more expensive than Los Angeles, CA?
- In the BEA 2024 benchmark, San Jose, CA (RPP 110.423) has an overall price level about 2.8% lower than Los Angeles, CA (RPP 113.566). This does not measure your current household costs.
- What salary do I need in San Jose, CA if I earn $100,000 in Los Angeles, CA?
- The historical RPP illustration is approximately $97,232 in San Jose, CA, using $100,000 x (110.423 / 113.566). It uses BEA 2024 overall price indexes before tax and household adjustments; HUD rent is not added to this figure.
- Which metro had stronger net migration, Los Angeles, CA or San Jose, CA?
- For 2022-2023, Los Angeles, CA had a net loss of 101,293 people, while San Jose, CA had a net loss of 19,801 people. IRS small-flow suppression means these are lower-bound research signals, not complete population-change totals.