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Cost of Living in San Francisco
Summary about cost of living in San Francisco:
- Four-person family monthly costs: 4,377.59$ without rent (using our estimator).
- A single person monthly costs: 1,183.31$ without rent.
- Cost of living rank 14th out of 533 cities in the world.
- San Francisco has a cost of living index of 94.54.
| Restaurants | [ Edit ] | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 17.00 $ | |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 80.00 $ | |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 8.00 $ | |
| Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 6.00 $ | |
| Imported Beer (11.2 oz small bottle) | 8.00 $ | |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 4.51 $ | |
| Coke/Pepsi (11.2 oz small bottle) | 2.17 $ | |
| Water (11.2 oz small bottle) | 1.79 $ | |
| Markets | [ Edit ] | |
| Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 4.16 $ | |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 3.70 $ | |
| Rice (white), (1 lb) | 2.54 $ | |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 3.62 $ | |
| Local Cheese (1 lb) | 8.91 $ | |
| Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1 lb) | 5.88 $ | |
| Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 8.24 $ | |
| Apples (1 lb) | 2.90 $ | |
| Banana (1 lb) | 1.13 $ | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | 2.03 $ | |
| Tomato (1 lb) | 3.00 $ | |
| Potato (1 lb) | 2.16 $ | |
| Onion (1 lb) | 1.94 $ | |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 2.34 $ | |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 2.02 $ | |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 15.00 $ | |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 2.44 $ | |
| Imported Beer (11.2 oz small bottle) | 3.67 $ | |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 8.62 $ | |
| Transportation | [ Edit ] | |
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 2.75 $ | |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 80.00 $ | |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 3.50 $ | |
| Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 2.75 $ | |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 33.00 $ | |
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | 3.58 $ | |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 22,000.00 $ | |
| Toyota Corolla 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 21,068.12 $ | |
| Utilities (Monthly) | [ Edit ] | |
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 106.69 $ | |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) | 0.10 $ | |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 62.81 $ | |
| Sports And Leisure | [ Edit ] | |
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 80.85 $ | |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 17.57 $ | |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 14.00 $ | |
| Childcare | [ Edit ] | |
| Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 2,063.94 $ | |
| International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 24,211.76 $ | |
| Clothing And Shoes | [ Edit ] | |
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 59.17 $ | |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 42.47 $ | |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 87.59 $ | |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 129.93 $ | |
| Rent Per Month | [ Edit ] | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 3,365.85 $ | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 2,627.19 $ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 5,703.66 $ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 4,243.90 $ | |
| Buy Apartment Price | [ Edit ] | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 1,123.31 $ | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 882.99 $ | |
| Salaries And Financing | [ Edit ] | |
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 5,616.44 $ | |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 4.09 |
Prices in San Francisco, California
These data are based on 2359 entries in the past 18 months from 352 different contributors.
Last update: August 2018
Last update: August 2018
21 Comments so far
In my house there are 3 apartments,
two with 60 square meter and 4 rooms one with two rooms and 40 squaremeter.
The two apartment with 60 sq.m are for 400 Euro rent.
The 40 sq.m room is for 400 Euro rent.
For a couple years, I lived in a beautiful 1-bedroom apartment on Steiner Street, just off Union, in 1988 - 1990, and the cost was only $750 per month. I did not own a car, but I could catch the electric bus a half block from my apartment, to go anywhere in town, quite often to SoMa, to e.g. Hamburger Mary's and to the rock clubs nearby - likely all gone now... I could walk to a great fresh pasta/bread/wine store 2 blocks away from my apartment, near the Triangle (if it's even still called that), and get the makings for a wonderful dinner, and I could grab a video at the vid store just up on Union (yeah, long gone), or go grab a coffee at the place just one block up on Union (too lazy to check the current name). Best time of my life. I will remember the fog rolling in, grabbing a sandwich and beer at Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store (Union & Columbus). I will remember the Christmas day when it was 32 degrees. I also lived for a year or two on Kearney, above the stairs, and will always remember the delicious caccuccio, bread and red wine at Little Joe's on Broadway. I was in SF when the earthquake struck in '89. I was in the building on Montgomery directly across from the TransAmerica Pyramid - I recall a long stream of yuppies walking home, west on Union Street, since the electric buses were out.
Best single years of my life. San Francisco is so beautiful. I will always remember it. Thank you San Francisco. I hope that at least some of the magic still remains. At least the Fog...
SF is expensive but wait till you get to europe. Coming from Lille, a town in France, I have to say that SF is paradise in terms of space, quality of life AND PRICE!
SF is expensive but not as expensive as Paris. I have been searching for rooms in SF and I found through a site called Zoopla and Craigslist a couple of apartments that are around $2,200 all inclusive of utilities. Plus has amenities.
All SF apartments for around $2,200 have amenities meaning, gym, pool and rooftop. Yes it is pricey, especially since I was paying 800 Euros in Lille. But for all that I get, it is extremely OK!
And of course, if you want to have a CAR, then yes, the cost of living will go up! But use the bus! Americans are not used to using public transport for some reason.
I'm from SF area, these stats look about right. I've lived here my whole life and I'll agree the cost of living here is wayyy too expensive, unless you're in low income housing or some kind of government aid you'll be living in the out skirts of the city or inner city area. Living anywhere near or in the bay you will be paying at least 2200+ for a good 1bdrm apartment in the nicer safer areas. It's not impossible to find something cheaper but it is hard. Especially if you don't have the right connections. Right now I am living near the lake merrit area and I have an amazing 1 bdrm in Oakland really popular and diverse place. Lots of restaurants and bars, night life is ok I guess. But I am paying 1870 for a tiny 1 bdrm just imagine living in the city!
All the blue/white color workers should move out and then the rich will have to fend for themselves and learn how to cook and clean their houses themselves..
Cities like this are losing their creativity and friendly community.. economic unfairness where there's a one two of three per cent that have it all and then everyone else is struggling to pay rent on a one bedder..
Back in the 70s and 80s SF was a totally different place and was really cheap and fun..
Gotta bring back the fun in life...
Most of the people I know who got here within the past 5 years (within the housing price bubble) live 3~5 in a house, 40 minutes outside of downtown by bus in the Richmond. They eat beans-&-rice and scrape their change together to go out for 1 beer a week with friends. Virtually no one works as few as 8 hours/day.
If you want to move here, decide what quality-of-life level you can sustain. Then figure out from data like on this site how much that would cost you. Do you or can you make an income that will pay for that? Will you be able to save/invest at all? How long can you sustain living like that? Bottom line: I wouldn't 'casually' move to SF. You're likely to loose your shirt and limp home to your parents if you don't think hard and plan carefully.
Lot's of tech workers as well as everyone else workers could find this a great way to head-down at night without going broke...
I rent a bunk bed (the top half at that :-() in a warehouse for $1399. !!
Then food, etc also costs more.
I pay $300 for parking in a garage where I can take my ar out 6 times/month (I never take it out.) I walk generally. Or take the bus ($225 each way), or Uber ride share: $4.75-$16 depending on how far an what time of day).
Generally parking garages with in/out privileges are $450 or more. Daily parking is $25-$35 / day.
Best of Luck.
It's a great place to live, but difficult if you're on a budges, or have little free time to take care of things.
The best deal is in the Sunset district. There is street parking, rents are lower, and you'll have more Space for the price you pay. But the bus could take 40min or more to get you downtown. If you work 12hr/day, you're not gonna want another 1.5hr commute time. It's also easier to get to a grocery store, or do other shopping from the sunset district. Parking is a nightmare downtown; both traffic and parking is more normalized in the Sunset, but still no guarantees.
rent is the big ugly expense .. right !
ok, then forget about rent and become a secret car sleeping urban nomad .. don't use big vehicles or suv's because they stand out like a sore thumb and keep your belongings out of view from people looking in through the windows.. if the car looks like a mobile home on wheels then your cover is blown.. so the car has to look just like an everyday urban vehicle.. keep your stuff in the trunk or camouflaged perhaps under a black sheet or something that looks like one thing but really is another thing.. if you understand my meaning..
look, it's not going to be five star living .. and i don't recommend it to people who can't cope with such things.. but if you're independent, free and adventurous then hey it may be worth a shot..
No. 3.4k is the average for a normal 1 bedroom apartment.
How much would a 2 bedrooms apartment cost that's located say 30-45min to the center of SF?
I wana move to SF in next year for living , i just wana know the price of rental apartment monthly , this is really high !!!!!! I'm single and i wana find cheap small home
Over to 500_850$ !
Is it possible!?
If you are looking at reasonable neighborhoods West Portal, Inner Parkside, Ingleside, Sunset, parts of the Richmond, dogpatch, and the mission. Areas where you don't want to live Tenderloin (nothing is tender about the loin), bayview, hunters point, China town, Excelsior, or the tenderknob. Super expensive areas Sea Cliff, Saint Francis Wood, Noe Valley, and Pacific heights.
I'm planning to visit SF for around 2-3 weeks. Apart from accomodation how much would it cost to live there for this period of time (say 2.5 weeks)? I'm used to living cheap, but still transportaion/food/little partying/entry to museums/etc, how much would you say? 800$?
Thanks!