Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Diego vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
San Diego is 12.6% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.6% less in San Diego
- Groceries
-
pay 23.1% less in San Diego
- Transportation
-
pay 10.0% less in San Diego
- Housing
-
pay 3.7% more in San Diego
- Childcare
-
pay 38.7% less in San Diego
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 11.5% less in San Diego
- Clothing
-
pay 1.1% more in San Diego
The cost of housing and clothing in San Diego are more expensive than in San Francisco. Expenses including childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and restaurants are lower in San Diego.
San Diego vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Diego instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 9.6% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$21.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$15.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$3.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.50
|
|
San Francisco vs. San Diego - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.1% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$4.57
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$7.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$4.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$5.84
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$6.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$1.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.42
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.12
|
|
San Francisco vs. San Diego - Cost of groceries
pay 10.0% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$4.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$72.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$31,965.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$19.40
|
|
San Francisco vs. San Diego - Cost of transportation
pay 3.7% more for housing
|
San Francisco
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$82.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$3,033.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$2,538.64
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$205.84
|
|
San Francisco vs. San Diego - Cost of housing
pay 38.7% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$1,750.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$28,750.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. San Diego - Cost of childcare
pay 11.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$5.90
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$12.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$73.21
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$17.50
|
|
San Francisco vs. San Diego - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 1.1% more for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
San Diego
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$60.72
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$58.44
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$105.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$126.25
|
|
San Francisco vs. San Diego - 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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