Cost of Living in Santa Rosa, CA, United States

RESTAURANTS

The best thing about Santa Rosa is easily the food.

A lot of the good Californian or Mediterranean places are expensive, but if you like Mexican, you can get some of the best in the Bay Area that are super cheap and sell late into the night.

Good restaurants with exclusive and expensive meals are also yours for the taking.

MARKETS

Food/groceries are less expensive than eating out, especially if you buy a lot of fresh produce.

There are farmers’ markets all over the place, and while they are not always a bargain, sometimes they are.

Then there’s Trader Joe’s, which is a great deal for almost everything: wine, nuts, cheese, milk, butter, all dairy, frozen foods, pasta, packaged foods, etc.

TRANSPORTATION

Being largely suburban, a car remains the most common method of getting around Santa Rosa and the suburbs surrounding it.

There is the Santa Rosa CityBus, but they are slow, badly organized, and don’t cover all areas of the city.

Bicycling in Santa Rosa is always an option and the downtown core is easily walkable as well, so you can really save a lot of money on transport.

UTILITIES (MONTHLY)

Utilities vary but you can calculate a rough 250$ per month which includes paying for trash, water, and sewer.

There are other costs such as apartment insurance and others.

Still, don’t forget that the price of utilities does depend on the amount of electricity you use and on the size of your apartment.

Internet service starts somewhere around 90$ a month.

SPORTS & LEISURE

Santa Rosa offers lots of outdoor things to do: it boasts many wineries, camping, lakes, hiking in Annadel, mountain biking, etc. so, if you want, you can exercise and save a lot of money.

A gym or a fitness club membership will cost you around 30$ which is pretty expensive.

A cinema ticket will cost you a whopping 13$ per seat.

CLOTHING & SHOES

Coddingtown s a very well-known shopping mall in Santa Rosa.

This over 40-year-old mall features Macy’s, JC-Penny, Gottschalks, Old Navy, and over 100 other stores.

When it comes to prices, quality jeans will cost you around 45$, and you won’t find any good running sneakers without cashing out over 73$.

RENT PER MONTH

Renting an apartment is very expensive in Santa Rosa, the prices of rent probably exceeded only by several other cities in America.

A one-bedroom apartment in the city will cost you well over 1700$, but you could also get a fantastic apartment for 3200$, with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room if you’re looking for a bigger one, for the whole family.