Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Chapel Hill Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 59.8% more expensive than Chapel Hill.
- Restaurants
-
pay 56.3% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 19.7% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 33.6% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 72.2% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 2.5 times more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 51.3% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 40.3% more in San Francisco
San Francisco vs. Chapel Hill Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Chapel Hill, you would:
pay 56.3% more for restaurants
|
Chapel Hill
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.17
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.02
|
$2.59
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.7% more for groceries
|
Chapel Hill
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.04
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.37
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.35
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.67
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.89
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$4.00
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.57
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.53
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.83
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.65
|
$1.81
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 33.6% more for transportation
|
Chapel Hill
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.01
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,000.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$20.31
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 72.2% more for housing
|
Chapel Hill
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$69.00
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,320.00
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,475.00
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$126.18
|
$179.63
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
|
Chapel Hill
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,318.67
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$42,000.00
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 51.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Chapel Hill
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.46
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.99
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$61.33
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.00
|
$17.00
|
|
Chapel Hill vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 40.3% more for clothing
|
Chapel Hill
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.67
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$30.00
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.33
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$82.50
|
$133.67
|
|
Chapel Hill 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: October 2026
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