2025 Compare Cities Cost of Living:
Long Beach, CA vs San Mateo, CA

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Highlights
Is it cheaper to live in San Mateo or is it cheaper to live in Long Beach?
- San Mateo is 54.6% more expensive than Long Beach.

Which city has more affordable housing, San Mateo or Long Beach?
- San Mateo housing costs are 111.7% more expensive than Long Beach housing costs.

Is Health Care more affordable in Long Beach or is Health Care more affordable in San Mateo.
- Health related expenses are 35.4% more in San Mateo.
 Long Beach, CASan Mateo, CAUnited States
 Overall  Unlock250.0100
 Food & Groceries101.9  Unlock100
 Health  Unlock117.4100
 Housing254.0  Unlock100
 Median Home Cost  Unlock$1,378,900$338,100
 Utilities97  Unlock100
 Transportation  Unlock143.4100
 Miscellaneous133.4  Unlock100
100 = National Average (Below 100 means cheaper than the US average. Above 100 means more expensive.)
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Reviews for Long Beach    45 Reviews

Local born and bred. This place is going down the drain. Crime is up, housing is up, yuppies finding nothing wrong with it since they want to validate spending 3k on a 2  More

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Angelique · 
Over 5 years ago

I love Long Beach. I especially shoreline village and the aquarium of the pacific. The only big problem here (for me) is crime. Otherwise, nice  More

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Over 7 years ago

The cost of living is extremely high and there are way too many apartments or multi unit homes which have no parking. But with everyone living on top of each other it  More

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Reviews for San Mateo    12 Reviews

I have lived in San Mateo since 2013. It has seen tremendous growth, lots of new restaurants which have become progressively more high-end though there is ample  More

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I'm a native of California. I have lived in the southern part of the state and the northern part of the state for most of my life. I have spent the last 29 years in  More

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Over 15 years ago

San Mateo has a diverse mix of people, a pleasant climate, a very pleasant downtown park with lots going on, and pretty much whatever you need handy. It's not far to  More

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