Raleigh vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Raleigh San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2477
$3781
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5984
$8717
🏠 One person rent
$1542
$2600
🏘️ Family rent
$2792
$4501
🍽️ Food expenses
$647
$806
🚐 Transport expenses
$98.6
$181
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$4931
$7795
😷 Air quality
Good
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
14 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
82
97
😀 Quality of life
89
97
🏙️ Population
468K
874K

The cost of living in Raleigh is 34% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 806th and 9th ($2477 vs $3781) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 719th and 7th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 2 months in Raleigh compared to 2.1 months in San Francisco. Ranked 49th vs 1st best cities to live in the United States, and 202nd vs 12th 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
$18
$22.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$77.6
$103
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$10.4
$12.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$6.03
$8.68
 Cappuccino
$5.49
$5.68
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.95
$2.79
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1570
$2707
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1231
$2324
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2956
$5024
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2331
$4030
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$166
$138
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$258
$211
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$77.4
$61.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.54%
6.62%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7431
$11577
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3484
$11019
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.25
$2.6
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$61.2
$96.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$15.1
$20.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.88
$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.99
$1.66
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$4.08
$4.31
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.41
$5.8
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.78
$6.2
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.9
$23
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.7
$15
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.6
$22.5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.67
$6.37
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.71
$3.31
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.94
$5.7
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.28
$7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.67
$3.91
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.98
$3.18
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.69
$1.68
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.39
$3.7
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$18.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.76
$3.33
🚬 Cigarette pack
$7.71
$13.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.3
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.96
$7.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.23
$5.38
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.56
$2.89
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$42.4
$91.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.2
$17.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$158
$132
💇 Haircut, simple
$23.2
$23.8
👖 Brand Jeans
$60.2
$63.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$107
$107
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1530
$2916
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$22229
$31050

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Cities near Raleigh

Distance City Cost of living
12 km or 7.6 mi Garner
$2278
15 km or 9.1 mi Cary
$2383
17 km or 10 mi Morrisville
$1859
21 km or 13 mi Wake Forest
$2228
21 km or 13 mi Apex
$2217
25 km or 16 mi Holly Springs
$2137
28 km or 18 mi Fuquay-Varina
$2158
30 km or 19 mi Durham
$2146
38 km or 23 mi Chapel Hill
$2212
60 km or 37 mi Henderson
$2141
61 km or 38 mi Sanford
$2105
65 km or 41 mi Wilson
$2057
77 km or 48 mi Rocky Mount
$2043
77 km or 48 mi Goldsboro
$1697
78 km or 49 mi Burlington
$2122
87 km or 54 mi Fayetteville
$2054
106 km or 66 mi Asheboro
$2110
109 km or 68 mi Danville
$1791
110 km or 68 mi Greensboro
$2012
114 km or 71 mi Roanoke Rapids
$2099
114 km or 71 mi Kinston
$2060
117 km or 73 mi Greenville
$2026
123 km or 76 mi High Point
$2110
129 km or 80 mi Thomasville
$2094
133 km or 83 mi Kernersville
$2162
137 km or 85 mi Lumberton
$2076
141 km or 87 mi Rockingham
$2105
149 km or 92 mi Winston-Salem
$1882
163 km or 101 mi Jacksonville
$1972
165 km or 103 mi New Bern
$1917
166 km or 103 mi Salisbury
$2081
182 km or 113 mi Kannapolis
$2119
182 km or 113 mi Lynchburg
$1705
183 km or 114 mi Concord
$2146
189 km or 117 mi Havelock
$2022
190 km or 118 mi Wilmington
$2135
191 km or 119 mi Petersburg
$2299
196 km or 122 mi Monroe
$2194
196 km or 122 mi Mint Hill
$2288
198 km or 123 mi Roanoke
$1753

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