Cost of living comparison
compared to
Salt Lake City vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Salt Lake City is 30.6% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 31.0% less in Salt Lake City
- Groceries
-
pay 34.8% less in Salt Lake City
- Transportation
-
pay 18.4% less in Salt Lake City
- Housing
-
pay 27.6% less in Salt Lake City
- Childcare
-
pay 62.0% less in Salt Lake City
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.2% less in Salt Lake City
- Clothing
-
pay 10.4% less in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Salt Lake City instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 31.0% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$18.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$11.25
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.23
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$1.83
|
|
San Francisco vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of restaurants
pay 34.8% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$3.23
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$6.43
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$3.47
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$4.23
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$4.60
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.17
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.86
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.63
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.00
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.16
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.24
|
|
San Francisco vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of groceries
pay 18.4% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$3.36
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$85.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$34,677.84
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$13.93
|
|
San Francisco vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of transportation
pay 27.6% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$80.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$1,633.85
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$1,392.27
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$134.44
|
|
San Francisco vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of housing
pay 62.0% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$1,044.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$18,333.33
|
|
San Francisco vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of childcare
pay 30.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$7.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$5.19
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$9.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$30.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$14.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. Salt Lake City - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.4% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Salt Lake City
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$44.17
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$105.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$100.83
|
|
San Francisco vs. Salt Lake City - 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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