Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Bethesda Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 28.5% more expensive than Bethesda.
- Restaurants
-
pay 50.7% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 65.1% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 36.0% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 59.1% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 16.8% less in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.7% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 7.5% less in San Francisco
San Francisco vs. Bethesda Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Bethesda, you would:
pay 50.7% more for restaurants
|
Bethesda
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.50
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.50
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.59
|
|
Bethesda vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 65.1% more for groceries
|
Bethesda
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.97
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.38
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.58
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.33
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.87
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.08
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.63
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.86
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.90
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.99
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.22
|
$1.81
|
|
Bethesda vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 36.0% more for transportation
|
Bethesda
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.16
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$100.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,000.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.58
|
$20.31
|
|
Bethesda vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 59.1% more for housing
|
Bethesda
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.50
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,250.00
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,866.67
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$79.25
|
$179.63
|
|
Bethesda vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 16.8% less for childcare
|
Bethesda
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,175.00
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$65,000.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Bethesda vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 12.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Bethesda
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.60
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$141.00
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.00
|
$17.00
|
|
Bethesda vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.5% less for clothing
|
Bethesda
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.67
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.00
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.00
|
$133.67
|
|
Bethesda 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: July 2026
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