Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Ann Arbor is 31.8% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.6% less in Ann Arbor
- Groceries
-
pay 36.3% less in Ann Arbor
- Transportation
-
pay 29.5% less in Ann Arbor
- Housing
-
pay 33.4% less in Ann Arbor
- Childcare
-
pay 46.3% less in Ann Arbor
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 28.8% less in Ann Arbor
- Clothing
-
pay 21.4% less in Ann Arbor
Expenses including childcare, groceries, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ann Arbor instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 26.6% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$16.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of restaurants
pay 36.3% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$3.30
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$6.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$3.04
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$3.40
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$4.35
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.46
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.76
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.58
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.32
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$0.97
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.37
|
|
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of groceries
pay 29.5% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$3.37
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$45.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$15.43
|
|
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of transportation
pay 33.4% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$70.62
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$1,829.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$1,344.44
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$110.66
|
|
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of housing
pay 46.3% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$1,933.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$20,000.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of childcare
pay 28.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$4.84
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$10.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$56.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$12.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.4% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Ann Arbor
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$51.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$37.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$91.67
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$101.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Ann Arbor - 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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