Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. New York City Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 2.5% cheaper than New York City.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.4% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 4.6% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 0.2% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 3.8% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 12.0% less in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.9% less in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 7.9% less in San Francisco
The cost of restaurants, groceries, housing, and transportation in San Francisco are more expensive than in New York City. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, and clothing are lower in San Francisco.
San Francisco vs. New York City Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of New York City, you would:
pay 9.4% more for restaurants
|
New York City
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$25.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.09
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.61
|
$2.59
|
|
New York City vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.6% more for groceries
|
New York City
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.75
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.89
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.05
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$7.20
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.07
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.29
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.60
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.68
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.78
|
$1.81
|
|
New York City vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 0.2% more for transportation
|
New York City
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.47
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$132.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,344.69
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.39
|
$20.31
|
|
New York City vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 3.8% more for housing
|
New York City
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.59
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$4,037.06
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,496.67
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$151.98
|
$179.63
|
|
New York City vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 12.0% less for childcare
|
New York City
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,154.10
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$57,250.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
New York City vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 15.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
New York City
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.71
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$150.04
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.00
|
$17.00
|
|
New York City vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.9% less for clothing
|
New York City
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.80
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$49.94
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$115.58
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$168.76
|
$133.67
|
|
New York City 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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