Cost of living comparison
compared to
Chicago vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Chicago is 16.0% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.4% less in Chicago
- Groceries
-
pay 26.7% less in Chicago
- Transportation
-
pay 17.6% less in Chicago
- Housing
-
pay 23.4% less in Chicago
- Childcare
-
pay 21.8% less in Chicago
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.4% less in Chicago
- Clothing
-
pay 0.1% more in Chicago
Expenses including groceries, housing, childcare, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Chicago.
Chicago vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Chicago instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 17.4% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$20.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$12.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.96
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.33
|
|
San Francisco vs. Chicago - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.7% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$4.01
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$7.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$4.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$5.02
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$6.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.79
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.09
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.26
|
|
San Francisco vs. Chicago - Cost of groceries
pay 17.6% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$3.81
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$75.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$35,691.85
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$14.43
|
|
San Francisco vs. Chicago - Cost of transportation
pay 23.4% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$65.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$2,418.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$1,692.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$141.41
|
|
San Francisco vs. Chicago - Cost of housing
pay 21.8% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$2,050.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$39,114.29
|
|
San Francisco vs. Chicago - Cost of childcare
pay 5.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$5.53
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$71.80
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$18.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Chicago - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.1% more for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Chicago
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$64.24
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$49.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$99.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$146.50
|
|
San Francisco vs. Chicago - 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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