Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Oakland Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 14.8% more expensive than Oakland.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.8% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 2.7% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 12.8% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 29.3% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 14.7% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 39.7% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 2.5% less in San Francisco
The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, childcare, transportation, restaurants, and groceries in San Francisco are more expensive than in Oakland.
San Francisco vs. Oakland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Oakland, you would:
pay 6.8% more for restaurants
|
Oakland
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.59
|
|
Oakland vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.7% more for groceries
|
Oakland
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.27
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.35
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.46
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.50
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.75
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.53
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.90
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.80
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.04
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.55
|
$1.81
|
|
Oakland vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 12.8% more for transportation
|
Oakland
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.79
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$85.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,894.01
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.70
|
$20.31
|
|
Oakland vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 29.3% more for housing
|
Oakland
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.33
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,035.71
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,883.33
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$190.70
|
$179.63
|
|
Oakland vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 14.7% more for childcare
|
Oakland
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,738.89
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$37,770.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Oakland vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 39.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Oakland
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.28
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.50
|
$17.00
|
|
Oakland vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.5% less for clothing
|
Oakland
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$72.33
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.00
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$103.17
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.75
|
$133.67
|
|
Oakland 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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