Cost of living comparison
compared to
Saint Louis vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Saint Louis is 29.3% cheaper than San Francisco.
Saint Louis vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Saint Louis instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 26.4% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Saint Louis
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$22.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$10.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$1.94
|
|
San Francisco vs. Saint Louis - Cost of restaurants
pay 21.5% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Saint Louis
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$2.91
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$6.74
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$3.84
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$3.11
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$5.05
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$3.18
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.93
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.19
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.71
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.85
|
|
San Francisco vs. Saint Louis - Cost of groceries
pay 18.9% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Saint Louis
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$2.94
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$78.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,336.95
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$15.93
|
|
San Francisco vs. Saint Louis - Cost of transportation
pay 33.2% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Saint Louis
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$71.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$1,372.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$975.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$157.70
|
|
San Francisco vs. Saint Louis - Cost of housing
pay 51.5% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Saint Louis
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$1,303.33
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$23,800.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Saint Louis - Cost of childcare
pay 39.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Saint Louis
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.20
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$4.92
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$7.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$26.88
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$13.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Saint Louis - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 14.2% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Saint Louis
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$55.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$38.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$92.12
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$129.17
|
|
San Francisco vs. Saint Louis - 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: October 2026
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