Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 53.1% more expensive than Ann Arbor.
- Restaurants
-
pay 40.5% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 59.4% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 47.9% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 62.9% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 88.7% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 44.4% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 28.2% more in San Francisco
The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in San Francisco are more expensive than in Ann Arbor. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Francisco.
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Ann Arbor, you would:
pay 40.5% more for restaurants
|
Ann Arbor
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.66
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$2.59
|
|
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 59.4% more for groceries
|
Ann Arbor
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.30
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.67
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.04
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.40
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.35
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.46
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.58
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.32
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.97
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.37
|
$1.81
|
|
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 47.9% more for transportation
|
Ann Arbor
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.37
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$31,965.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.43
|
$20.31
|
|
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 62.9% more for housing
|
Ann Arbor
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$70.62
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,829.17
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,344.44
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$110.66
|
$179.63
|
|
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 88.7% more for childcare
|
Ann Arbor
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,933.33
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,000.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 44.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ann Arbor
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.50
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.84
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$10.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.67
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$12.00
|
$17.00
|
|
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 28.2% more for clothing
|
Ann Arbor
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.00
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$91.67
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.00
|
$133.67
|
|
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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