New York City vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

New York City San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$4203
$4110
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$9136
$8713
🏠 One person rent
$2713
$2867
🏘️ Family rent
$4396
$4681
🍽️ Food expenses
$874
$852
🚐 Transport expenses
$379
$178
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5599
$7086
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
13 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
100
97
😀 Quality of life
98
97
🏙️ Population
8.8M
874K

The cost of living in New York City is 2% more expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 4th and 5th ($4203 vs $4110) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 3rd in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.3 months in New York City compared to 1.7 months in San Francisco. Ranked 1st vs 3rd best cities to live in the United States, and 11th vs 20th among the best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in New York City vs San Francisco infographic

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Prices in New York City vs San Francisco

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

New York City San Francisco
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$23.2
$25.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$92.4
$117
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$14
$13.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.67
$8.01
 Cappuccino
$6.18
$5.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.07
$3.33
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$3669
$3192
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2221
$2524
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$5076
$4937
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3880
$4262
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$137
$141
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$211
$216
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$66.2
$68.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.42%
6.33%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$15299
$10657
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$11127
$9554
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.93
$3.02
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$134
$90.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$25
$20.8
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.9
$1.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.58
$1.54
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$4.49
$4.86
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.71
$5.6
🥚 Eggs, x12
$7.75
$7.07
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.9
$23.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.9
$14
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$19.5
$24.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.19
$6.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.5
$2.83
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.91
$5.24
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.35
$6.95
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.38
$3.68
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.71
$3.99
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.66
$1.86
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.76
$3.36
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$18.1
$18.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.3
$2.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$18.8
$14
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$23.2
$11.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$13.9
$8.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$8.03
$6.99
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.87
$2.46
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$128
$101
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$20.7
$17.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$157
$149
💇 Haircut, simple
$37.3
$33.5
👖 Brand Jeans
$63.2
$68.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$119
$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1884
$1880
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$22663
$18564

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Cities near New York City

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.6 mi Astoria
$2569
11 km or 6.8 mi Hoboken
$3364
11 km or 7.1 mi Jersey
$3066
13 km or 8.3 mi Union
$2913
14 km or 8.8 mi West New York
$2733
14 km or 8.9 mi Bayonne
$3253
15 km or 9.6 mi North Bergen
$2717
17 km or 10 mi Secaucus
$2783
17 km or 11 mi Cliffside Park
$2727
18 km or 11 mi Kearny
$2725
20 km or 12 mi Valley Stream
$2735
20 km or 13 mi Fort Lee
$2811
20 km or 13 mi Lyndhurst
$2671
22 km or 14 mi Newark
$2712
23 km or 14 mi Elizabeth
$2765
23 km or 14 mi Belleville
$2538
25 km or 15 mi Hillside
$2688
25 km or 15 mi Long Beach
$2756
25 km or 15 mi Nutley
$2545
25 km or 16 mi East Orange
$2475
25 km or 16 mi Irvington
$2614
26 km or 16 mi Rockville Centre
$2647
26 km or 16 mi Linden
$2770
26 km or 16 mi Hackensack
$2705
26 km or 16 mi Bloomfield
$2513
26 km or 16 mi Teaneck
$2749
26 km or 16 mi Carteret
$2774
26 km or 16 mi Passaic
$2695
27 km or 17 mi Roselle
$2769
27 km or 17 mi Hempstead
$2655
28 km or 17 mi Union Township
$2730
28 km or 18 mi Clifton
$2718
28 km or 18 mi Maplewood
$2609
29 km or 18 mi Montclair
$2506
29 km or 18 mi Bergenfield
$2723
29 km or 18 mi Mount Vernon
$2911
30 km or 18 mi Rahway
$2779
30 km or 18 mi Uniondale
$2680
30 km or 18 mi West Orange
$2470
30 km or 18 mi New Rochelle
$3174

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3223
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3227
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3255
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$3254
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$2961
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$3109
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3230
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$2998
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3218
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3026
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3285
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$3014
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3317
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$3071
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$3797
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3756
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2810
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3634
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2950
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2858
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3553
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2826
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$2957
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3382
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$3033
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3890
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2910
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$3818
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2838
38 km or 24 mi Union
$3045
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$2850
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2381
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3094
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2823
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2764
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3359
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3333
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3133
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3070
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3765