Cost of living comparison
compared to
Johannesburg vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Johannesburg is 63.8% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 56.4% less in Johannesburg
- Groceries
-
pay 55.4% less in Johannesburg
- Transportation
-
pay 11.3% less in Johannesburg
- Housing
-
pay 79.0% less in Johannesburg
- Childcare
-
pay 89.7% less in Johannesburg
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 65.7% less in Johannesburg
- Clothing
-
pay 12.2% less in Johannesburg
Johannesburg vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Johannesburg instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 56.4% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$27.15
|
$12.02
ZAR198.53
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$7.21
ZAR119.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.16
|
$1.20
ZAR19.78
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.70
|
$0.89
ZAR14.72
|
|
San Francisco vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants
pay 55.4% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.31
|
$1.25
ZAR20.60
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.16
|
$4.31
ZAR71.21
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.63
|
$5.00
ZAR82.66
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$2.67
ZAR44.17
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.99
|
$2.50
ZAR41.31
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.78
|
$0.93
ZAR15.41
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.83
ZAR13.73
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$0.83
ZAR13.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.11
|
$0.94
ZAR15.52
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.76
ZAR12.59
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$0.84
ZAR13.83
|
|
San Francisco vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries
pay 11.3% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.78
|
$5.77
ZAR95.33
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$95.00
|
$90.13
ZAR1,488.99
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,998.00
|
$35,391.94
ZAR585K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.39
|
$8.05
ZAR133.02
|
|
San Francisco vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation
pay 79.0% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$76.29
|
$35.90
ZAR593.03
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,735.00
|
$498.84
ZAR8,240.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,618.75
|
$425.42
ZAR7,028.03
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.32
|
$174.98
ZAR2,890.63
|
|
San Francisco vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing
pay 89.7% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,942.94
|
$242.74
ZAR4,010.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,562.50
|
$5,468.16
ZAR90,334.24
|
|
San Francisco vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare
pay 65.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$2.25
ZAR37.22
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.97
|
$2.44
ZAR40.34
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$3.30
ZAR54.60
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$121.54
|
$36.60
ZAR604.68
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$7.81
ZAR129.05
|
|
San Francisco vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 12.2% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.17
|
$57.63
ZAR952.05
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.67
|
$45.77
ZAR756.18
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.08
|
$108.45
ZAR1,791.55
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.64
|
$105.86
ZAR1,748.89
|
|
San Francisco vs. Johannesburg - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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