Johannesburg vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1079
$3781
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2553
$8717
🏠 One person rent
$487
$2600
🏘️ Family rent
$837
$4501
🍽️ Food expenses
$302
$806
🚐 Transport expenses
$204
$181
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1695
$7795
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
72
97
😀 Quality of life
58
97
🏙️ Population
4.43M
874K

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 71% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 5069th and 9th ($1079 vs $3781) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 7th in South Africa and the United States, respectively. Check South Africa vs the United States comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Johannesburg compared to 2.1 months in San Francisco. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs San Francisco ranked 1st in the United States, while ranked 5446th and 12th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Johannesburg vs San Francisco infographic

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Prices in Johannesburg vs San Francisco

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

Johannesburg San Francisco
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.91
$22.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$40.5
$103
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.08
$12.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.31
$8.68
 Cappuccino
$2.04
$5.68
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.01
$2.79
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$405
$2707
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$361
$2324
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$781
$5024
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$657
$4030
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$72.2
$138
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$111
$211
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$44.3
$61.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.54%
6.62%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1096
$11577
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$753
$11019
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.89
$2.6
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$81.8
$96.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.6
$20.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.37
$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.21
$1.66
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1
$4.31
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$5.8
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.66
$6.2
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.3
$23
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.16
$15
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.49
$22.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$6.37
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.62
$3.31
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.48
$5.7
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$3.91
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$3.18
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.62
$1.68
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.51
$3.7
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.14
$18.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.36
$3.33
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.19
$13.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.05
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.18
$7.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2
$5.38
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.53
$2.89
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.1
$91.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.67
$17.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29.8
$132
💇 Haircut, simple
$6.42
$23.8
👖 Brand Jeans
$51.5
$63.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$91.2
$107
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$241
$2916
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5865
$31050

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Cities near Johannesburg

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi Sandton
$997
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$874
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$971
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$822
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$696
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$838
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$909
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$717
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$848
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$943
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$717
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$819
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$841
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$689
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$788
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$774
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$809
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$692
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$718
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$690
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$623
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$791
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$654
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$459
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$627
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$663
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$696
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$581
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$554
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$859
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$1003
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$600
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1116
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$834
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$585
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$1045

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3180
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3170
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3274
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$3146
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$2940
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$3082
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3196
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$2977
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3152
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3053
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3224
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$3048
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3293
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$3023
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$4155
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3672
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2802
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3473
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2831
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2949
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3804
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2981
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$2931
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3442
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$2874
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3584
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2714
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$2922
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2767
38 km or 24 mi Union
$2986
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$2851
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2885
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3176
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2845
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2726
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3288
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3228
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3010
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3091
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3610