Cost of living in San Francisco, CA
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area (4,648,486 people) ranks #1 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.
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See all 149 cities
Price level, from cheaper to pricier.
- The Villages, FL 85.4
- McAllen, TX 85.9
- Springfield, MO 88.6
- Wichita, KS 88.9
- Jackson, MS 89.0
- Tulsa, OK 89.2
- Columbus, GA 89.3
- Little Rock, AR 89.4
- El Paso, TX 89.9
- Oklahoma City, OK 90.4
- Sioux Falls, SD 90.6
- Baton Rouge, LA 90.8
- Clarksville, TN 90.9
- Fargo, ND 90.9
- Killeen, TX 91.1
- Spartanburg, SC 91.1
- Fayetteville, AR 91.4
- Chattanooga, TN 91.5
- Toledo, OH 91.5
- Birmingham, AL 91.6
- Des Moines, IA 91.7
- Augusta, GA 91.9
- Omaha, NE 91.9
- Fayetteville, NC 92.0
- Winston-Salem, NC 92.0
- Jacksonville, NC 92.1
- Memphis, TN 92.2
- Kansas City, MO 92.5
- Fort Wayne, IN 92.6
- Knoxville, TN 92.6
- New Orleans, LA 92.6
- Dayton, OH 92.7
- Greensboro, NC 92.9
- Lexington, KY 92.9
- Huntsville, AL 93.1
- Louisville, KY 93.1
- Greenville, SC 93.3
- Akron, OH 93.4
- Billings, MT 93.5
- Myrtle Beach, SC 93.6
- Columbia, SC 93.7
- Cleveland, OH 93.9
- Daphne, AL 94.7
- Pittsburgh, PA 94.7
- San Antonio, TX 94.7
- St. Louis, MO 95.1
- Ocala, FL 95.2
- Savannah, GA 95.2
- Cincinnati, OH 95.4
- Albuquerque, NM 95.5
- Columbus, OH 95.5
- Grand Rapids, MI 95.5
- Indianapolis, IN 95.7
- Syracuse, NY 95.7
- Buffalo, NY 95.8
- Nashville, TN 96.3
- Wilmington, NC 96.4
- Asheville, NC 96.5
- Cheyenne, WY 96.5
- Gainesville, FL 96.7
- Milwaukee, WI 96.9
- Tucson, AZ 96.9
- Crestview, FL 97.0
- Rochester, NY 97.0
- Lakeland, FL 97.1
- Charlotte, NC 97.3
- Madison, WI 97.3
- Panama City, FL 97.3
- Durham, NC 97.6
- Pensacola, FL 97.7
- Richmond, VA 97.9
- Virginia Beach, VA 97.9
- Hilton Head Island, SC 98.0
- Austin, TX 98.1
- Provo, UT 98.2
- Raleigh, NC 98.2
- Prescott, AZ 98.3
- Boise, ID 98.4
- Houston, TX 98.6
- Harrisburg, PA 98.7
- Daytona Beach, FL 99.4
- Jacksonville, FL 99.5
- Albany, NY 99.6
- Allentown, PA 100.0
- Palm Bay, FL 100.0
- Atlanta, GA 100.1
- Greeley, CO 100.2
- Las Vegas, NV 100.2
- Port St. Lucie, FL 100.2
- Detroit, MI 100.3
- Ogden, UT 100.3
- Spokane, WA 100.3
- Norwich, CT 100.4
- Punta Gorda, FL 100.5
- Colorado Springs, CO 100.7
- Ann Arbor, MI 100.9
- Bakersfield, CA 100.9
- Burlington, VT 100.9
- Salt Lake City, UT 100.9
- Tampa, FL 100.9
- Charleston, SC 101.0
- Reno, NV 101.0
- Fort Collins, CO 101.1
- Orlando, FL 101.4
- Eugene, OR 101.6
- Providence, RI 101.8
- Portland, ME 101.9
- Fresno, CA 102.2
- Cape Coral, FL 102.3
- Sarasota, FL 102.4
- Worcester, MA 102.5
- Philadelphia, PA 102.6
- Hartford, CT 102.7
- Dallas, TX 103.1
- Naples, FL 103.2
- Trenton, NJ 103.2
- Phoenix, AZ 103.3
- Bend, OR 103.6
- Chicago, IL 103.6
- Olympia, WA 103.7
- Baltimore, MD 104.5
- New Haven, CT 104.6
- Minneapolis, MN 104.8
- Stockton, CA 105.1
- Boulder, CO 105.2
- Anchorage, AK 105.4
- Portland, OR 105.4
- Bremerton, WA 105.6
- Manchester, NH 105.7
- Denver, CO 105.8
- Riverside, CA 106.4
- Sacramento, CA 106.7
- Bridgeport, CT 106.9
- Santa Rosa, CA 107.8
- Boston, MA 108.3
- Vallejo, CA 108.5
- Santa Barbara, CA 108.8
- Washington, D.C. 108.9
- Salinas, CA 109.0
- Poughkeepsie, NY 109.4
- San Jose, CA 110.4
- Oxnard, CA 110.5
- Honolulu, HI 111.0
- Seattle, WA 111.1
- San Diego, CA 111.9
- New York, NY 112.6
- Los Angeles, CA 113.6
- Miami, FL 114.2
- San Francisco, CA 115.6
Compare San Francisco with your city
See what you'd need to earn in San Francisco to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from San Jose, CA, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), at about its median household income. Pick your own city and salary.
Equal salary in San Francisco: $174,000
Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities
To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $174,000 in San Francisco, CA to match $165,000 in San Jose, CA ($9,000 more), after 2026 taxes and local prices.
Single filer, W-2 salary. Both are in California, so state income tax is the same; neither city levies a resident income tax.
What things cost in San Francisco
The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.
Taxes in San Francisco
On a $135,000 salary (about the area's median household income), a single filer keeps $93,474 after 2026 federal tax ($21,134), Social Security and Medicare ($10,328) and California income tax ($8,310), plus $1,755 in state payroll programs.
Housing
| Measure | San Francisco area |
|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,435/mo |
| Median home value | $1,132,900 |
| Median property tax | $8,777/yr |
| Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down) | $6,854 |
| Median household income | $135,590 |
Climate and jobs in San Francisco
In the San Francisco area the average January low is 47°F and the average July high 66°F, and the area has about 3 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 4.4% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $74,260 a year, 46% above the U.S. median.
| Climate | 1991–2020 average |
|---|---|
| January low | 47°F |
| July high | 66°F |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 3 a year |
| Precipitation | 23 in a year |
| Snowfall | 0 in a year |
| Jobs and pay | Metro area | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate, 2025 average | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Median wage, all jobs (May 2025) | $74,260 | $50,980 |
| Wage and salary jobs (May 2025) | 2.4 million | 155.5 million |
Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the San Francisco Downtown station (USW00023272), with snowfall from San Francisco Oceanside (USC00047767) because the main station doesn't record it. Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.
Retiring in San Francisco
A single retiree spends about $4,055 a month here if they own their home outright, or $5,442 renting, based on typical spending for households 65 and older (BLS 2024) adjusted for local prices. See where your budget goes furthest.
Where people move to and from San Francisco
- San Francisco to San Jose
- San Francisco to Los Angeles
- San Francisco to Sacramento
- San Francisco to New York
- San Francisco to Stockton
- San Francisco to Vallejo
- San Francisco to San Diego
- San Francisco to Santa Rosa
- San Jose to San Francisco
- Los Angeles to San Francisco
- Sacramento to San Francisco
- New York to San Francisco
- Stockton to San Francisco
- Vallejo to San Francisco
- San Diego to San Francisco
- Seattle to San Francisco
IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.
Natural hazard risk
FEMA rates the San Francisco area among the highest for natural hazard risk (score 99.4 of 100), with expected losses of about $993 per resident per year. Disaster risk by county in California.
The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).
Frequently asked questions
What salary do you need to live in San Francisco?
To match the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax, you need about $97,300 in San Francisco. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $97,400, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $293,723.
Is San Francisco expensive?
The San Francisco metro area's price level is 115.6 (U.S. = 100), #1 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing price index is 194.7, 95% above the U.S. average.
Are people moving to San Francisco?
Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, San Francisco had a net loss of about 11,450 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).
What is the weather like in San Francisco?
In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the San Francisco area (San Francisco Downtown weather station), the average January low is 47°F and the average July high 66°F. The area has about 3 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 23 inches of precipitation a year and almost no snow.
What are jobs and pay like in San Francisco?
The San Francisco metro area's unemployment rate averaged 4.4% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $74,260 a year in May 2025, 46% above the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
What natural disasters affect San Francisco?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates the area among the highest overall (score 99.4). The highest relative risks are earthquake, landslide, riverine flooding.
Compare San Francisco with other cities
Moving from San Francisco to…
Cities with similar prices
- Miami, FL 114.2
- Los Angeles, CA 113.6
- New York, NY 112.6
- San Diego, CA 111.9
- Seattle, WA 111.1
- Honolulu, HI 111.0
- Moving from California