Bern vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Bern San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2569
$3729
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7059
$8827
🏠 One person rent
$1356
$2575
🏘️ Family rent
$2684
$4722
🍽️ Food expenses
$836
$762
🚐 Transport expenses
$118
$182
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$6378
$7332
😷 Air quality
Good
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
6 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
80
97
😀 Quality of life
94
95
🏙️ Population
134K
874K

The cost of living in Bern is 31% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 579th and 12th ($2569 vs $3729) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 37th and 10th in Switzerland and the United States, respectively. Check Switzerland vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2.5 months in Bern compared to 2 months in San Francisco. Bern ranked 7th best city to live in Switzerland vs San Francisco ranked 4th in the United States, while ranked 44th and 29th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Bern vs San Francisco infographic

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Prices in Bern vs San Francisco

Prices for goods and services in Bern and San Francisco are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Bern San Francisco
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$24.4
$22.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$93.6
$87.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$17
$11.9
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.18
$8.6
 Cappuccino
$5.46
$5.44
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$4.62
$2.75
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1451
$2705
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1040
$2296
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2631
$5169
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2284
$4274
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$183
$135
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$280
$208
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$51.4
$62.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
2.72%
6.55%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$15943
$11456
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11901
$10309
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.33
$2.74
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$87.3
$96.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$45.7
$21
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.09
$1.33
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$2
$1.72
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.69
$4.07
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.29
$4.93
🥚 Eggs, x12
$7.32
$6.13
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$25.2
$20
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$28.3
$15.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$51.8
$19
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.02
$5.78
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.96
$3
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$4.9
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.11
$5.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.36
$3.44
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.02
$3.36
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.75
$1.52
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.9
$3.01
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.2
$16.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.97
$4.01
🚬 Cigarette pack
$10.2
$12.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$14
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.47
$8.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.87
$5.79
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.88
$2.94
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$73.5
$95.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$22.4
$17.4
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$147
$159
💇 Haircut, simple
$39.1
$26.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$130
$62.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$156
$106
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$2993
$2657
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$28492
$31490

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Bern

Distance City Cost of living
3.5 km or 2.2 mi Koniz
$2597
25 km or 16 mi Thun
$2527
26 km or 16 mi Biel/Bienne
$2400
28 km or 17 mi Fribourg
$2368
40 km or 25 mi Neuchatel
$2248
43 km or 27 mi Interlaken
$2665
48 km or 30 mi Bulle
$2580
50 km or 31 mi La Chaux-de-Fonds
$2347
64 km or 40 mi Kriens
$2838
64 km or 40 mi Yverdon-les-Bains
$2826
66 km or 41 mi Lucerne
$2925
66 km or 41 mi Emmen
$2882
67 km or 42 mi Aarau
$2142
67 km or 42 mi Allschwil
$2846
69 km or 43 mi Basel
$2820
70 km or 44 mi Montreux
$2693
71 km or 44 mi Saint-Louis
$1307
72 km or 45 mi Riehen
$3296
73 km or 45 mi Rheinfelden
$1510
73 km or 45 mi Weil am Rhein
$1499
76 km or 47 mi Lorrach
$1492
77 km or 48 mi Lausanne
$2706
80 km or 50 mi Sion
$1952
80 km or 50 mi Renens
$2702
85 km or 53 mi Zug
$3444
86 km or 54 mi Baar
$3083
87 km or 54 mi Baden
$3128
88 km or 55 mi Wettingen
$3041
88 km or 55 mi Dietikon
$2861
88 km or 55 mi Belfort
$1327
89 km or 56 mi Mulhouse
$1282
92 km or 57 mi Altstetten
$3073
94 km or 58 mi Horgen
$3051
95 km or 59 mi Waldshut-Tiengen
$1533
95 km or 59 mi Zurich
$3380
98 km or 61 mi Wadenswil
$3001
102 km or 63 mi Dubendorf
$3200
104 km or 65 mi Bulach
$2930
106 km or 66 mi Uster
$3059
109 km or 68 mi Rapperswil-Jona
$2916

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3133
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3130
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3358
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$3123
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$2965
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$3127
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3147
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$2977
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3135
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3042
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3163
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$3046
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3219
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$2969
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$4148
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3583
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2650
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3518
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2840
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2968
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3567
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2660
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$2881
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3300
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$2876
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3389
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2697
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$2929
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2782
38 km or 24 mi Union
$2922
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$2860
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2900
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3195
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2824
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2947
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3313
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3245
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3003
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3109
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3733