Raleigh vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Raleigh San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2388
$3905
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5530
$8537
🏠 One person rent
$1484
$2719
🏘️ Family rent
$2447
$4421
🍽️ Food expenses
$625
$804
🚐 Transport expenses
$94.8
$177
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4749
$7528
😷 Air quality
Good
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
14 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
82
97
😀 Quality of life
88
96
🏙️ Population
468K
874K

The cost of living in Raleigh is 39% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 972nd and 7th ($2388 vs $3905) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 892nd and 5th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Raleigh compared to 1.9 months in San Francisco. Ranked 51st vs 1st best cities to live in the United States, and 221st vs 16th among the best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Raleigh vs San Francisco infographic

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Prices in Raleigh vs San Francisco

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

Raleigh San Francisco
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$17.1
$22.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$75.6
$102
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.74
$11.9
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.88
$8.59
 Cappuccino
$5.37
$5.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.31
$3.07
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1468
$2797
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1216
$2467
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2614
$4615
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2029
$4053
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$149
$128
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$232
$198
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$68.4
$57.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.51%
6.52%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$6077
$11255
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2879
$10091
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.01
$2.71
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$58.4
$92.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$14.9
$20.5
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.84
$1.32
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.96
$1.7
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.8
$4.48
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.45
$5.7
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.83
$6.5
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$24.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.1
$14.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$16.9
$22.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.48
$6.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.38
$3.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.38
$5.48
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.04
$6.96
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.1
$3.47
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.81
$3.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.5
$1.82
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.46
$3.61
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$14.9
$19.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.82
$3.32
🚬 Cigarette pack
$7.69
$14
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.17
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4
$7.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$3.38
$5.91
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.7
$2.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$39.1
$87.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.3
$17.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$158
$148
💇 Haircut, simple
$24.9
$26.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$52
$64.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$93.2
$109
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1481
$2824
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$21914
$20590

Cost of living in other countries

RaleighSan Francisco

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Raleigh

Distance City Cost of living
12 km or 7.6 mi Garner
$2281
15 km or 9.1 mi Cary
$2616
17 km or 10 mi Morrisville
$1836
21 km or 13 mi Wake Forest
$2229
21 km or 13 mi Apex
$2335
25 km or 16 mi Holly Springs
$2315
28 km or 18 mi Fuquay-Varina
$2290
30 km or 19 mi Durham
$2140
38 km or 23 mi Chapel Hill
$2309
60 km or 37 mi Henderson
$2169
61 km or 38 mi Sanford
$2184
65 km or 41 mi Wilson
$2073
77 km or 48 mi Rocky Mount
$2052
77 km or 48 mi Goldsboro
$1733
78 km or 49 mi Burlington
$2144
87 km or 54 mi Fayetteville
$2100
106 km or 66 mi Asheboro
$2091
109 km or 68 mi Danville
$1764
110 km or 68 mi Greensboro
$2011
114 km or 71 mi Roanoke Rapids
$2117
114 km or 71 mi Kinston
$2076
117 km or 73 mi Greenville
$2014
123 km or 76 mi High Point
$1934
129 km or 80 mi Thomasville
$2058
133 km or 83 mi Kernersville
$2169
137 km or 85 mi Lumberton
$2100
141 km or 87 mi Rockingham
$2136
149 km or 92 mi Winston-Salem
$2098
163 km or 101 mi Jacksonville
$1952
165 km or 103 mi New Bern
$1819
166 km or 103 mi Salisbury
$2117
182 km or 113 mi Kannapolis
$2136
182 km or 113 mi Lynchburg
$1752
183 km or 114 mi Concord
$2147
189 km or 117 mi Havelock
$1976
190 km or 118 mi Wilmington
$2144
191 km or 119 mi Petersburg
$2332
196 km or 122 mi Monroe
$2182
196 km or 122 mi Mint Hill
$2269
198 km or 123 mi Roanoke
$1682

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3190
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3185
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3364
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$2968
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$2888
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$2974
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3195
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$2929
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3183
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3004
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3226
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$2999
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3269
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$2963
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$3997
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3678
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2747
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3466
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2888
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2840
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3657
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2811
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$3041
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3344
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$2932
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3649
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2780
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$3785
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2816
38 km or 24 mi Union
$3002
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$3045
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2412
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3115
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2767
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2778
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3326
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3286
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3060
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3059
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3752