Cost of Living Comparison Between San Francisco, CA and New York, NY 

Indices DifferenceInfo
Cost of Living in New York, NY is 10.8% higher than in San Francisco, CA (excluding rent)
Cost of Living Including Rent in New York, NY is 17.5% higher than in San Francisco, CA
Rent Prices in New York, NY are 27.3% higher than in San Francisco, CA
Restaurant Prices in New York, NY are 9.5% higher than in San Francisco, CA
Groceries Prices in New York, NY are 0.6% higher than in San Francisco, CA
Local Purchasing Power in New York, NY is 40.5% lower than in San Francisco, CA
Currency: Sticky Currency      Switch to metric measurement units
Restaurants
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit Difference
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 25.00 $ 30.00 $      +20.0 %
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 130.00 $ 145.00 $      +11.5 %
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 15.00 $ 12.50 $      -16.7 %
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 8.00 $ 8.00 $      0.0 %
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 8.00 $ 12.00 $      +50.0 %
Cappuccino (regular) 5.90 $ 5.95 $      +0.8 %
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 3.32 $ 3.30 $      -0.6 %
Water (12 oz small bottle) 2.51 $ 2.63 $      +4.8 %
Markets
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 5.66 $ 5.98 $      +5.8 %
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 4.59 $ 4.65 $      +1.3 %
Rice (white), (1 lb) 3.05 $ 3.73 $      +22.3 %
Eggs (regular) (12) 6.12 $ 7.07 $      +15.5 %
Local Cheese (1 lb) 10.65 $ 7.87 $      -26.1 %
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 6.79 $ 7.48 $      +10.1 %
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 10.83 $ 9.15 $      -15.5 %
Apples (1 lb) 3.24 $ 3.41 $      +5.2 %
Banana (1 lb) 1.30 $ 1.13 $      -13.1 %
Oranges (1 lb) 2.37 $ 2.62 $      +10.5 %
Tomato (1 lb) 3.42 $ 2.89 $      -15.4 %
Potato (1 lb) 1.73 $ 1.71 $      -0.9 %
Onion (1 lb) 1.77 $ 1.82 $      +2.7 %
Lettuce (1 head) 2.86 $ 3.11 $      +8.8 %
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 2.80 $ 2.52 $      -10.1 %
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 18.00 $ 19.99 $      +11.1 %
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 2.57 $ 2.96 $      +15.2 %
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 3.27 $ 3.79 $      +16.0 %
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 14.00 $ 19.00 $      +35.7 %
Transportation
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 3.00 $ 2.90 $      -3.3 %
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 95.00 $ 132.00 $      +38.9 %
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 4.15 $ 4.99 $      +20.2 %
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 3.25 $ 3.50 $      +7.7 %
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 39.00 $ 42.00 $      +7.7 %
Gasoline (1 gallon) 4.93 $ 3.56 $      -27.9 %
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 35,000.00 $ 35,000.00 $      0.0 %
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 25,954.72 $ 27,984.05 $      +7.8 %
Utilities (Monthly)
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 221.18 $ 181.37 $      -18.0 %
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data 64.67 $ 59.81 $      -7.5 %
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 67.26 $ 62.90 $      -6.5 %
Sports And Leisure
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 98.87 $ 142.19 $      +43.8 %
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 12.67 $ 64.58 $      +409.9 %
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 17.00 $ 20.00 $      +17.6 %
Childcare
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 3,170.83 $ 3,164.36 $      -0.2 %
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 38,000.00 $ 57,250.00 $      +50.7 %
Clothing And Shoes
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 68.48 $ 66.98 $      -2.2 %
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 46.00 $ 48.05 $      +4.5 %
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 101.46 $ 113.27 $      +11.6 %
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 148.58 $ 170.74 $      +14.9 %
Rent Per Month
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 3,332.21 $ 4,143.37 $      +24.3 %
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 2,792.00 $ 2,681.09 $      -4.0 %
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 5,424.00 $ 8,388.10 $      +54.6 %
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 4,495.00 $ 5,217.60 $      +16.1 %
Buy Apartment Price
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 1,008.61 $ 1,721.69 $      +70.7 %
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 892.82 $ 1,197.27 $      +34.1 %
Salaries And Financing
San Francisco, CA Edit New York, NY Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 7,333.44 $ 5,128.24 $      -30.1 %
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 6.36 6.44      +1.3 %
Last update: 12 June 202511 June 2025
Contributors in the past 12 months:162373