Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Boston Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 14.3% more expensive than Boston.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.0% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 10.2% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 24.1% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 2.9% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 34.3% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.2% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 1.4% less in San Francisco
The cost of childcare, transportation, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing in San Francisco are more expensive than in Boston.
San Francisco vs. Boston Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Boston, you would:
pay 16.0% more for restaurants
|
Boston
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.87
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.40
|
$2.59
|
|
Boston vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.2% more for groceries
|
Boston
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.16
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.92
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.80
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.15
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.61
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.81
|
|
Boston vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 24.1% more for transportation
|
Boston
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.46
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,000.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.52
|
$20.31
|
|
Boston vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 2.9% more for housing
|
Boston
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$77.28
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,451.79
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,596.36
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.30
|
$179.63
|
|
Boston vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 34.3% more for childcare
|
Boston
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,793.33
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,500.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Boston vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 14.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Boston
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.36
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$88.48
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$17.00
|
|
Boston vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.4% less for clothing
|
Boston
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.87
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$43.75
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.71
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$152.08
|
$133.67
|
|
Boston 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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