Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. Sacramento Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 29.6% more expensive than Sacramento.
- Restaurants
-
pay 35.0% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 17.2% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 0.1% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 22.8% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 87.2% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 39.7% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 5.1% more in San Francisco
The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, groceries, and clothing in San Francisco are more expensive than in Sacramento. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Francisco.
San Francisco vs. Sacramento Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of Sacramento, you would:
pay 35.0% more for restaurants
|
Sacramento
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.53
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.04
|
$2.59
|
|
Sacramento vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 17.2% more for groceries
|
Sacramento
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$4.54
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.13
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.45
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.03
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.43
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.36
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.93
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.08
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.70
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.07
|
$1.81
|
|
Sacramento vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 0.1% more for transportation
|
Sacramento
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.75
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$100.00
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.91
|
$20.31
|
|
Sacramento vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 22.8% more for housing
|
Sacramento
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.65
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,061.79
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,652.79
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$270.98
|
$179.63
|
|
Sacramento vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 87.2% more for childcare
|
Sacramento
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,450.83
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,750.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
Sacramento vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 39.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Sacramento
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.67
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.25
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.46
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.50
|
$17.00
|
|
Sacramento vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.1% more for clothing
|
Sacramento
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.75
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.83
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$93.07
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$130.00
|
$133.67
|
|
Sacramento 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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