Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Des Moines Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 78.7% more expensive than Des Moines.
- Restaurants
-
pay 36.0% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 77.7% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 58.3% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 2.2 times more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 3.0 times more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 46.3% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 19.7% more in San Francisco
San Francisco vs. Des Moines Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Des Moines, you would:
pay 36.0% more for restaurants
|
Des Moines
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$17.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.15
|
$2.59
|
|
Des Moines vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 77.7% more for groceries
|
Des Moines
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.03
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.36
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.56
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.61
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.67
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.77
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.66
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.59
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.81
|
|
Des Moines vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 58.3% more for transportation
|
Des Moines
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.93
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$58.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,000.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.94
|
$20.31
|
|
Des Moines vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 2.2 times more for housing
|
Des Moines
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.86
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,214.00
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$912.50
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$108.83
|
$179.63
|
|
Des Moines vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 3.0 times more for childcare
|
Des Moines
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,369.17
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,812.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 46.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Des Moines
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.47
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.14
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$71.67
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$17.00
|
|
Des Moines vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 19.7% more for clothing
|
Des Moines
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$56.67
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.00
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$73.00
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.33
|
$133.67
|
|
Des Moines 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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