Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. San Mateo Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 19.1% more expensive than San Mateo.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.1% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 3.5% more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 20.0% more in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 5.7% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 6.4% more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 23.2% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 58.8% more in San Francisco
San Francisco vs. San Mateo Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of San Mateo, you would:
pay 16.1% more for restaurants
|
San Mateo
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.00
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.00
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
|
$2.59
|
|
San Mateo vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.5% more for groceries
|
San Mateo
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.11
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.44
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.00
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$8.00
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.67
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.00
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.90
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.75
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.33
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.70
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$1.81
|
|
San Mateo vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 20.0% more for transportation
|
San Mateo
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.76
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.60
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,753.89
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$20.31
|
|
San Mateo vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 5.7% more for housing
|
San Mateo
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$63.00
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,743.33
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,855.00
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$194.97
|
$179.63
|
|
San Mateo vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 6.4% more for childcare
|
San Mateo
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,823.00
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,750.00
|
$42,000.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 23.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
San Mateo
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.00
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.20
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$8.50
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$95.00
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.99
|
$17.00
|
|
San Mateo vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 58.8% more for clothing
|
San Mateo
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.00
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$25.00
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.67
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$60.00
|
$133.67
|
|
San Mateo vs. San Francisco - 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: June 2026
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