Cost of living comparison
compared to
United States vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
United States is 28.8% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 25.9% less in United States
- Groceries
-
pay 28.3% less in United States
- Transportation
-
pay 20.6% less in United States
- Housing
-
pay 29.0% less in United States
- Childcare
-
pay 51.0% less in United States
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 28.6% less in United States
- Clothing
-
pay 17.9% less in United States
Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation are lower in United States.
United States vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United States instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 25.9% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$30.00
|
$19.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$11.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.30
|
$2.56
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.59
|
$2.00
|
|
San Francisco vs. United States - Cost of restaurants
pay 28.3% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.06
|
$3.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.69
|
$6.50
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.85
|
$3.97
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.26
|
$4.27
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.63
|
$5.41
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.22
|
$2.37
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.31
|
$0.78
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.37
|
$2.04
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.23
|
$2.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$1.34
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.81
|
$1.38
|
|
San Francisco vs. United States - Cost of groceries
pay 20.6% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.89
|
$3.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$90.00
|
$65.85
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$32,336.38
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.31
|
$17.61
|
|
San Francisco vs. United States - Cost of transportation
pay 29.0% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$68.78
|
$68.97
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,446.66
|
$1,664.59
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,736.00
|
$1,416.15
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$179.63
|
$150.19
|
|
San Francisco vs. United States - Cost of housing
pay 51.0% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$3,236.11
|
$1,387.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,000.00
|
$23,196.46
|
|
San Francisco vs. United States - Cost of childcare
pay 28.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$5.84
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.98
|
$5.15
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.00
|
$9.90
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$109.64
|
$51.45
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.00
|
$13.64
|
|
San Francisco vs. United States - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.9% less for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
United States
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$70.00
|
$51.08
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$48.82
|
$41.81
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.00
|
$87.56
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$133.67
|
$112.04
|
|
San Francisco vs. United States - 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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