Cost of living comparison
compared to
New Jersey vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
New Jersey is 18.3% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 22.6% less in New Jersey
- Groceries
-
pay 16.7% less in New Jersey
- Transportation
-
pay 4.6% less in New Jersey
- Housing
-
pay 25.8% less in New Jersey
- Childcare
-
pay 36.3% less in New Jersey
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.8% less in New Jersey
- Clothing
-
pay 4.3% less in New Jersey
Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation are lower in New Jersey.
New Jersey vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in New Jersey instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 22.6% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$19.95
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$12.40
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.60
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.04
|
|
San Francisco vs. New Jersey - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.7% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$4.17
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$8.09
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$5.24
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$5.96
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.76
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.98
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.20
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.62
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.44
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.60
|
|
San Francisco vs. New Jersey - Cost of groceries
pay 4.6% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$3.24
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$116.02
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$32,841.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$19.75
|
|
San Francisco vs. New Jersey - Cost of transportation
pay 25.8% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$62.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$2,279.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$1,885.98
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$126.74
|
|
San Francisco vs. New Jersey - Cost of housing
pay 36.3% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$2,023.96
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$27,267.62
|
|
San Francisco vs. New Jersey - Cost of childcare
pay 17.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$6.95
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$5.20
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$12.79
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$52.90
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$16.52
|
|
San Francisco vs. New Jersey - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.3% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
New Jersey
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$57.64
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$49.26
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$99.28
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$136.81
|
|
San Francisco vs. New Jersey - 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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