Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Philadelphia Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 27.0% more expensive than Philadelphia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 25.8% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 26.5% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 19.2% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 45.3% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 29.2% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 32.1% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 11.0% more in San Francisco
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in San Francisco are more expensive than in Philadelphia.
San Francisco vs. Philadelphia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Philadelphia, you would:
pay 25.8% more for restaurants
|
Philadelphia
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.79
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.10
|
$2.59
|
|
Philadelphia vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.5% more for groceries
|
Philadelphia
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.25
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.30
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.27
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.54
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.89
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.73
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.85
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.05
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.65
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.41
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.49
|
$1.81
|
|
Philadelphia vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 19.2% more for transportation
|
Philadelphia
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.24
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$96.50
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,373.32
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.43
|
$20.31
|
|
Philadelphia vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 45.3% more for housing
|
Philadelphia
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$76.39
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,831.00
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,313.60
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$189.95
|
$179.63
|
|
Philadelphia vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 29.2% more for childcare
|
Philadelphia
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,026.67
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,560.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Philadelphia vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 32.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Philadelphia
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.06
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.38
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$17.00
|
|
Philadelphia vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.0% more for clothing
|
Philadelphia
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$51.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.86
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.31
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.67
|
$133.67
|
|
Philadelphia 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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