San Francisco vs Seattle - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

San Francisco Seattle
🚶 Cost of living one person
$4040
$3154
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$8690
$7508
🏠 One person rent
$2814
$1981
🏘️ Family rent
$4668
$3422
🍽️ Food expenses
$830
$796
🚐 Transport expenses
$179
$169
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$7450
$6532
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
18 km
9 km
🎓 Higher education
97
80
😀 Quality of life
95
95
🏙️ Population
874K
737K

The cost of living in San Francisco is 28% more expensive than in Seattle. Cities ranked 7th and 142nd ($4040 vs $3154) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 101st in the United States.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in San Francisco compared to 2.1 months in Seattle. Ranked 4th vs 5th best cities to live in the United States, and 30th vs 32nd among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Share this infographic!

Prices in San Francisco vs Seattle

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

San Francisco Seattle
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$22.7
$22.3
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$98.1
$96.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$14
$14.6
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7.92
$7.73
 Cappuccino
$6.1
$6.45
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.28
$2.97
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$3172
$2110
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$2480
$1647
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4983
$3872
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$4258
$2891
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$129
$169
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$199
$262
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$66.7
$72.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.52%
6.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10615
$7394
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9151
$5077
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.01
$3.01
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$96.9
$111
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$19.8
$16.9
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.29
$1.21
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.61
$1.44
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$4.88
$4.47
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.69
$4.23
🥚 Eggs, x12
$7.75
$6.95
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$22
$20.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.1
$16.8
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$23.9
$21.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.01
$5.6
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.03
$2.27
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.42
$5.07
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.97
$6.09
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.87
$3.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.36
$3.45
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$2
$1.74
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.34
$3.47
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$18.8
$17.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.92
$3.65
🚬 Cigarette pack
$14
$12.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$13.1
$10.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$8
$8.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$7.03
$6.86
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.81
$2.42
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$102
$83.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$18
$17.8
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$150
$147
💇 Haircut, simple
$33.5
$24.7
👖 Brand Jeans
$70.9
$69.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$105
$122
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1918
$2521
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$21243
$28950

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near San Francisco

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.9 mi Daly
$3252
14 km or 8.4 mi South San Francisco
$3245
14 km or 8.8 mi Alameda
$3277
15 km or 9.2 mi Oakland
$3212
16 km or 10 mi Albany
$3058
17 km or 10 mi Berkeley
$3242
17 km or 11 mi San Bruno
$3264
18 km or 11 mi El Cerrito
$3073
18 km or 11 mi Pacifica
$3255
19 km or 12 mi Richmond
$3083
20 km or 12 mi Millbrae
$3282
21 km or 13 mi San Pablo
$3058
22 km or 14 mi Burlingame
$3346
24 km or 15 mi San Leandro
$3007
24 km or 15 mi San Rafael
$4102
26 km or 16 mi San Mateo
$3831
28 km or 17 mi San Lorenzo
$2802
28 km or 18 mi Foster
$3604
29 km or 18 mi Lafayette
$2929
29 km or 18 mi Hercules
$2893
31 km or 19 mi Belmont
$3593
32 km or 20 mi Hayward
$2910
32 km or 20 mi Castro Valley
$2983
34 km or 21 mi San Carlos
$3359
34 km or 21 mi Walnut Creek
$2984
36 km or 23 mi Redwood
$3771
37 km or 23 mi Martinez
$2929
37 km or 23 mi Danville
$3778
37 km or 23 mi Pleasant Hill
$2780
38 km or 24 mi Union
$3137
39 km or 24 mi San Ramon
$2859
39 km or 24 mi Vallejo
$2380
39 km or 24 mi Novato
$3182
39 km or 24 mi Benicia
$2807
41 km or 25 mi Concord
$2783
42 km or 26 mi Menlo Park
$3395
42 km or 26 mi East Palo Alto
$3382
43 km or 27 mi Newark
$3261
45 km or 28 mi Dublin
$3094
46 km or 28 mi Palo Alto
$3805

Cities near Seattle

Distance City Cost of living
9.1 km or 5.7 mi Mercer Island
$2896
11 km or 6.5 mi Bellevue
$3292
14 km or 8.5 mi Kirkland
$3041
15 km or 9.2 mi Tukwila
$2681
15 km or 9.5 mi Burien
$2717
16 km or 10 mi Bainbridge Island
$2855
17 km or 10 mi Shoreline
$2778
17 km or 10 mi Renton
$2604
17 km or 11 mi Redmond
$3559
17 km or 11 mi Kenmore
$2702
19 km or 12 mi SeaTac
$2807
21 km or 13 mi Bothell
$2737
22 km or 14 mi Sammamish
$2915
22 km or 14 mi Edmonds
$2739
23 km or 14 mi Issaquah
$2798
24 km or 15 mi Des Moines
$2677
24 km or 15 mi Lynnwood
$2734
24 km or 15 mi Bremerton
$2475
26 km or 16 mi Kent
$2814
30 km or 19 mi Mill Creek
$2717
33 km or 20 mi Federal Way
$2587
34 km or 21 mi Maple Valley
$2656
35 km or 21 mi Mukilteo
$2674
35 km or 22 mi Auburn
$2325
41 km or 25 mi Everett
$2641
42 km or 26 mi Tacoma
$2519
46 km or 28 mi University Place
$2720
48 km or 30 mi Puyallup
$2828
50 km or 31 mi Lake Stevens
$2641
51 km or 32 mi Lakewood
$2582
52 km or 33 mi Marysville
$2628
57 km or 35 mi Spanaway
$2362
74 km or 46 mi Lacey
$2584
76 km or 47 mi Olympia
$2558
78 km or 48 mi Sequim
$2710
80 km or 50 mi Oak Harbor
$2754
90 km or 56 mi Mount Vernon
$2456
100 km or 62 mi Port Angeles
$2539
109 km or 68 mi Centralia
$2747
119 km or 74 mi Victoria
$2173