Discover the cost of living in Los Angeles, CA – housing, food, transport & more. Compare expenses and plan your budget. The average cost of living in Los Angeles is $3420, which is in the top 0.7% of the most expensive cities in the world, ranked 62nd out of 9294 in our global list, 47th out of 2202 in the United States and 34th out of 319 in California. Discover Los Angeles's cost of living. See how housing, food, transportation and other expenses compare to the National average. See how far your salary will go to maintain your standard of living using our Cost of Living Calculator. We offer you not only costs and income, but also information on schools, quality of. According to the Apartment List Rent Index, the median rent across all apartment sizes in Los Angeles is $2,075 as of August 2026, with one-bedrooms at $1,856 and two-bedrooms at $2,367. That runs about 49% above the national median of $1,390. The city median eased 1.27% over the past year. Cost of living is calculated by looking at the prices of a variety of recurring expenses that people typically need. This can include housing, food, healthcare, and other everyday expenses. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim increased 0.5 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that prices for all items less food and energy increased 0.4 percent. Are you moving to Los Angeles, California? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living? Find out what is the real equivalent in Los Angeles, California of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation. Our proprietary algorithms analyze this information to deliver the most accurate and comprehensive cost of living data available. Latest cost of living data for Los Angeles, CA shows local prices for housing, food, bills, transport and daily needs. The estimated monthly costs for a single person are $1,487.3, excluding rent. Los Angeles is 13.4% less expensive than New York (excluding rent, see our cost of living index).