Cost of living comparison
compared to
San Francisco vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
San Francisco is 56.3% more expensive than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 48.1% more in San Francisco
- Groceries
-
pay 2.1 times more in San Francisco
- Transportation
-
pay 12.0% less in San Francisco
- Housing
-
pay 91.7% more in San Francisco
- Childcare
-
pay 2.1 times more in San Francisco
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 35.2% more in San Francisco
- Clothing
-
pay 7.7% more in San Francisco
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing in San Francisco are more expensive than in United Kingdom. Notably, childcare, groceries, and housing are significantly more expensive in San Francisco.
San Francisco vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in San Francisco instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 48.1% more for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£15.26
|
$30.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.43
|
$14.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.74
|
$3.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.23
|
$2.59
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Francisco - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.1 times more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.19
|
$5.06
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.52
|
$11.69
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.64
|
$5.85
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.89
|
$6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.89
|
$6.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£0.99
|
$3.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.55
|
$1.31
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.96
|
$2.37
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.12
|
$3.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.54
|
$1.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.53
|
$1.81
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Francisco - Cost of groceries
pay 12.0% less for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.40
|
$4.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£74.07
|
$90.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£27,089.65
|
$36,753.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.51
|
$20.31
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Francisco - Cost of transportation
pay 91.7% more for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£31.33
|
$68.78
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£961.56
|
$3,446.66
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£794.26
|
$2,736.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£174.67
|
$179.63
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Francisco - Cost of housing
pay 2.1 times more for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,144.72
|
$3,236.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,489.32
|
$42,000.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Francisco - Cost of childcare
pay 35.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.75
|
$8.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.39
|
$5.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.34
|
$14.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£36.84
|
$109.64
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.38
|
$17.00
|
|
United Kingdom vs. San Francisco - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.7% more for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
San Francisco
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£64.31
|
$70.00
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£33.05
|
$48.82
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£71.20
|
$102.00
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£75.80
|
$133.67
|
|
United Kingdom 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: December 2025
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