What a trip to Los Angeles costs, worked out for your days and your party, with every price traced to where it comes from. And then the part most budgets skip: how to actually pay once you are there.
Food, getting around and sights in Los Angeles come to $100 – $120 per person per day. Accommodation, flights and the airport transfer are on top.Prices reviewed: November 2026.
Days, people and how you like to travel decide almost everything. Flights are left out: they depend on where you start.
You still need, flights aside
$1,500 – $1,800
$110 – $130 per person per day · 7 days and 2 people
Expected
$1,500 – $1,800
Most trips land in here
Set aside
$1,800
With this you are unlikely to run short
Cushion, kept apart
$160
10% of the trip
Food$850 – $1,100
Getting around$70
Airport, both ways$51
Sights and activities$350
Nights out$56 – $140
Lodging tax and odds and ends$63 – $78
Of that, in cash: $18 – $190
The cash share is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement. Your own bank may charge on top; this page cannot know that.
Accommodation is not in this figure. Add your price per night to include it.
Flights are not included.
You probably will not spend the cushion. Having it to hand covers a night you had not planned, a taxi, or a changed ticket.
Styles
What a day in Los Angeles costs, by how you travel
Per person per day, two travelling, without accommodation, flights or the airport transfer. A style is not a figure: it is a way of eating, getting around and seeing things, and each one is spelled out below.
Budget
$68 – $97 per person per day
Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.
FoodLocal and cheap
$47 – $75
Getting aroundPublic transport
$5
Sights and activitiesThe odd paid sight
$13
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$3.20 – $4.60
Mid-range
$100 – $120 per person per day
Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.
FoodMixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
$61 – $81
Getting aroundPublic transport
$5
Sights and activitiesOne paid sight a day
$25
Nights outNow and then
$4.00 – $9.80
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$4.50 – $5.60
Comfort
$150 – $170 per person per day
The best food level we can price, public transport, two paid sights a day.
FoodRestaurants most of the time
$82 – $97
Getting aroundPublic transport
$5
Sights and activitiesTwo paid sights a day
$50
Nights outNow and then
$4.00 – $9.80
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$6.80 – $7.60
A style's total is not the sum of the extremes of its lines: nobody has a trip where everything comes out cheap, or everything dear. “Sundries” is an assumption of ours, 5% of food, transport and sights, not a measurement.
By length of trip
How much money for 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days in Los Angeles
Per person, two travelling together, without accommodation or flights. It is not the daily figure times the days: airport transfers are paid once, so they weigh less the longer you stay.
Days
Budget
Mid-range
Comfort
3
$230 – $320 $76 – $110 a day
$340 – $400 $110 – $130 a day
$480 – $530 $160 – $180 a day
5
$370 – $510 $73 – $100 a day
$530 – $630 $110 – $130 a day
$770 – $850 $150 – $170 a day
7
$500 – $700 $72 – $100 a day
$740 – $890 $110 – $130 a day
$1,100 – $1,200 $150 – $170 a day
10
$710 – $990 $71 – $99 a day
$1,100 – $1,300 $110 – $130 a day
$1,500 – $1,700 $150 – $170 a day
14
$980 – $1,400 $70 – $98 a day
$1,500 – $1,800 $100 – $130 a day
$2,100 – $2,400 $150 – $170 a day
Add your accommodation in the calculator above: it is the largest line and the one we cannot source yet.
Prices
What things cost in Los Angeles
Eating and drinking: no official statistic measures what eating out costs here, so these are prices from the menu each place publishes on its own website, and each row says where it comes from. It is a sample, not an average: there are cheaper and dearer places, and tourist areas cost more.
What
Price
Source
Eating and drinking
Coffee, Philippe the Original (counter)
$0.46
From the sourceNov 2026
Coffee, Fred 62
$5.62
From the sourceNov 2026
Two-egg breakfast, Philippe the Original (counter)
$10.95
From the sourceNov 2026
Egg breakfast (Eggs Squared), Fred 62
$14.62
From the sourceNov 2026
Taco, Sonoratown
$3.50
From the sourceNov 2026
Chili dog, Pink's
$8.50
From the sourceNov 2026
Chili burger, Pink's
$8.95
From the sourceNov 2026
Burrito, Sonoratown
$13.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Beef French dip sandwich, Philippe the Original (counter)
$14.95
From the sourceNov 2026
Tacos, Fred 62
$15.62
From the sourceNov 2026
Burger, Fred 62
$19.62
From the sourceNov 2026
Can of Tecate beer, Fred 62
$5.62
From the sourceNov 2026
Draught beer, 16 oz, Sonoratown
$7.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Draught Modelo, Philippe the Original (counter)
$7.50
From the sourceNov 2026
Glass of wine, Philippe the Original (counter)
$7.50
From the sourceNov 2026
Glass of wine, Fred 62
$9.62
From the sourceNov 2026
Getting around
Metro (rail and bus), single fare
$1.75
From the sourceNov 2026
Daily cap with a TAP card
$5.00
From the sourceNov 2026
7-day cap with a TAP card
$18.00
From the sourceNov 2026
FlyAway bus, airport–Union Station
$12.75
From the sourceNov 2026
Sights
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, adult
$25.00
From the sourceNov 2026
Menu prices here exclude tax and tip: the budget adds the 10.25% sales tax to everything, plus a 15%–20% tip on what you eat or drink sitting down, the range the tourism office gives. The tip is a custom, not a measured price.
From the source means we read it where it is set: the operator, the bank, the city or the statistics office. Reported means a guide or the press says so and we have not seen the original. Where sources disagree we show both figures and leave the price out of every sum.
What each food level is made of
A food level is not a number we chose. It is two lists of dishes from the table above, a cheap day and a dear one, and the price is the sum.
Local and cheap
From Two-egg breakfast, Philippe the Original (counter) + Coffee, Philippe the Original (counter) + Beef French dip sandwich, Philippe the Original (counter) + Taco, Sonoratown × 2 + Draught beer, 16 oz, Sonoratown ($40.36 on the menu; $46.60 with tax and tip) to Egg breakfast (Eggs Squared), Fred 62 + Coffee, Fred 62 + Chili burger, Pink's + Chili dog, Pink's + Burrito, Sonoratown + Draught beer, 16 oz, Sonoratown ($57.69 on the menu; $75.14 with tax and tip).
Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
From Two-egg breakfast, Philippe the Original (counter) + Coffee, Philippe the Original (counter) + Beef French dip sandwich, Philippe the Original (counter) + Burger, Fred 62 + Can of Tecate beer, Fred 62 ($51.60 on the menu; $60.68 with tax and tip) to Egg breakfast (Eggs Squared), Fred 62 + Coffee, Fred 62 + Burrito, Sonoratown + Burger, Fred 62 + Glass of wine, Fred 62 ($62.48 on the menu; $81.38 with tax and tip).
Restaurants most of the time
From Egg breakfast (Eggs Squared), Fred 62 + Coffee, Fred 62 + Tacos, Fred 62 + Burger, Fred 62 + Glass of wine, Fred 62 ($65.10 on the menu; $81.54 with tax and tip) to Egg breakfast (Eggs Squared), Fred 62 + Coffee, Fred 62 + Burger, Fred 62 + Tacos, Fred 62 + Glass of wine, Fred 62 × 2 ($74.72 on the menu; $97.32 with tax and tip).
Getting around
The most a day of public transport costs
With the city's transport card, a day of public transport never costs more than $5.00: the cap applies by itself.
Accommodation
What the night costs, and the tax on top
There is no open source of hotel prices, and we have not sampled this city yet. So the calculator asks you for the price you have seen instead of printing one that looks plausible.
How much money do you need for a week in Los Angeles?
For seven days, $740 – $890 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.
How much money do you need for 3 days in Los Angeles?
For 3 days, $340 – $400 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.
What is a realistic daily budget in Los Angeles?
Per person per day, without accommodation or flights: $68 – $97 on the “Budget” style, $100 – $120 on the “Mid-range” style, and $150 – $170 on the “Comfort” style.
Can you travel to Los Angeles on a budget?
The cheapest style we work out is “Budget”: $68 – $97 per person per day, without accommodation or flights. Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.
How much does food cost in Los Angeles?
From $47 per person per day (“Local and cheap”) to $97 (“Restaurants most of the time”). The price table has what each dish costs.
How much does transport cost in Los Angeles?
A ride on public transport costs $1.75. With the city's transport card, a day of public transport never costs more than $5.00: the cap applies by itself.
Is there a lodging tax in Los Angeles?
Yes: 14% of the room price.
How much cash should you carry in Los Angeles?
For a week on the “Mid-range” style, about $8.80 – $96.00 per person, two travelling. It is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement.
Do you tip in Los Angeles?
Restaurants: customary. Bars and cafés: customary. Hotels: customary. Taxis: customary.
Sources
Where every figure comes from
Each price on this page carries its source. These are all of them. Prices reviewed: November 2026.
This page tells you how much to take. The app keeps count of what you spend.
Joru works out the budget of your itinerary day by day and sets it against what you actually spend, by category and with the exchange rate. On your phone, with no account.
