Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Irvine Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 26.9% more expensive than Irvine.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.6% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 28.7% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 15.3% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 13.4% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 40.1% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 54.1% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 9.8% more in San Francisco
San Francisco vs. Irvine Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Irvine, you would:
pay 26.6% more for restaurants
|
Irvine
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.50
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.67
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.90
|
$2.59
|
|
Irvine vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.7% more for groceries
|
Irvine
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.58
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.22
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.62
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.50
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.15
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.48
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.47
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.36
|
$1.81
|
|
Irvine vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 15.3% more for transportation
|
Irvine
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$72.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,500.00
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.41
|
$20.31
|
|
Irvine vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 13.4% more for housing
|
Irvine
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.25
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,538.33
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,525.00
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.80
|
$179.63
|
|
Irvine vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 40.1% more for childcare
|
Irvine
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,841.67
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$40,160.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Irvine vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 54.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Irvine
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.55
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.63
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.17
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.75
|
$17.00
|
|
Irvine vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.8% more for clothing
|
Irvine
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$69.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.75
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.00
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$156.00
|
$133.67
|
|
Irvine 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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