San Diego vs San Francisco - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

San Diego San Francisco
🚶 Cost of living one person
$3428
$3905
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$7974
$8537
🏠 One person rent
$2311
$2719
🏘️ Family rent
$4175
$4421
🍽️ Food expenses
$743
$804
🚐 Transport expenses
$180
$177
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$5531
$7528
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
3 km
18 km
🎓 Higher education
87
97
😀 Quality of life
91
96
🏙️ Population
1.39M
874K

The cost of living in San Diego is 12% less expensive than in San Francisco. Cities ranked 36th and 7th ($3428 vs $3905) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 32nd and 5th in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in San Diego compared to 1.9 months in San Francisco. Ranked 13th vs 1st best cities to live in the United States, and 95th 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 San Diego vs San Francisco infographic

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Prices in San Diego vs San Francisco

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

San Diego San Francisco
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$22.1
$22.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$83.1
$102
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$15
$11.9
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.3
$8.59
 Cappuccino
$6.04
$5.83
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.96
$3.07
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2424
$2797
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1978
$2467
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4583
$4615
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3654
$4053
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$177
$128
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$269
$198
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$66.3
$57.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.42%
6.52%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9086
$11255
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7072
$10091
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.51
$2.71
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$72.1
$92.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$19.4
$20.5
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.33
$1.32
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.23
$1.7
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$3.95
$4.48
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.13
$5.7
🥚 Eggs, x12
$5.2
$6.5
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$15.6
$24.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.3
$14.4
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$18.4
$22.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.75
$6.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.71
$3.03
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.32
$5.48
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.97
$6.96
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.75
$3.47
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.44
$3.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.69
$1.82
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.7
$3.61
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$17.6
$19.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.85
$3.32
🚬 Cigarette pack
$12.1
$14
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$17.4
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$13.1
$7.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$5.87
$5.91
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.99
$2.92
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$75
$87.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17
$17.5
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$130
$148
💇 Haircut, simple
$31.9
$26.2
👖 Brand Jeans
$59.6
$64.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$98.3
$109
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1785
$2824
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$28706
$20590

Cost of living in other countries

San DiegoSan Francisco

Cost of living

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near San Diego

Distance City Cost of living
4.2 km or 2.6 mi Coronado
$3065
7.2 km or 4.5 mi National
$2962
13 km or 7.8 mi Lemon Grove
$2914
14 km or 9 mi Chula Vista
$3017
14 km or 9 mi La Mesa
$2916
16 km or 9.8 mi Imperial Beach
$2911
18 km or 11 mi La Jolla
$2964
21 km or 13 mi El Cajon
$3043
24 km or 15 mi Tijuana
$1047
25 km or 15 mi Santee
$2898
30 km or 19 mi Poway
$2930
38 km or 24 mi Encinitas
$3124
40 km or 25 mi Las Delicias
$912
43 km or 26 mi Rosarito Beach
$910
46 km or 29 mi Escondido
$3279
47 km or 30 mi San Marcos
$2917
52 km or 33 mi Carlsbad
$3273
54 km or 33 mi Vista
$2834
57 km or 36 mi Oceanside
$3199
73 km or 46 mi Fallbrook
$2907
88 km or 55 mi Temecula
$2637
91 km or 57 mi San Clemente
$2945
95 km or 59 mi Murrieta
$3109
97 km or 61 mi Dana Point
$2936
98 km or 61 mi French Valley
$2732
99 km or 61 mi San Juan Capistrano
$2950
99 km or 61 mi Wildomar
$2763
104 km or 65 mi Laguna Niguel
$3188
107 km or 66 mi Laguna Beach
$2996
107 km or 67 mi Menifee
$2578
109 km or 68 mi Ensenada
$880
109 km or 68 mi Lake Elsinore
$2694
110 km or 68 mi Mission Viejo
$3496
110 km or 69 mi Laguna Hills
$3082
111 km or 69 mi Rancho Santa Margarita
$2971
114 km or 71 mi Aliso Viejo
$3326
114 km or 71 mi Lake Forest
$3020
115 km or 72 mi Hemet
$2764
119 km or 74 mi Perris
$2682
119 km or 74 mi Temescal Valley
$2759

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