Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Providence Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 39.5% more expensive than Providence.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.4% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 39.5% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 40.4% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 21.7% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 58.2% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 40.0% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 55.5% more in San Francisco
San Francisco vs. Providence Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Providence, you would:
pay 21.4% more for restaurants
|
Providence
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$19.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.75
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.33
|
$2.59
|
|
Providence vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 39.5% more for groceries
|
Providence
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.36
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.37
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.31
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.68
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.90
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.47
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.97
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.66
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.08
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.42
|
$1.81
|
|
Providence vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 40.4% more for transportation
|
Providence
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.18
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$70.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,036.53
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.46
|
$20.31
|
|
Providence vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 21.7% more for housing
|
Providence
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$67.50
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,235.62
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,741.67
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$243.64
|
$179.63
|
|
Providence vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 58.2% more for childcare
|
Providence
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,833.33
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$30,000.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Providence vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 40.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Providence
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.58
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.00
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.00
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.00
|
$17.00
|
|
Providence vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 55.5% more for clothing
|
Providence
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.50
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$67.00
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$83.33
|
$133.67
|
|
Providence 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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