City comparison
Daly City, CA is about 50 miles (70 km) from San Jose, CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 60 miles, or about 57 min behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Daly City, CA to San Jose, CA takes about 5 min, covering roughly 50 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
San Jose has a population of 1,001,176, vs 103,648 in Daly City — about 9.7× larger by population. By land area, San Jose covers about 180 sq mi vs 7.7 sq mi for Daly City.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Daly City | San Jose | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,554/mo | $2,526/mo | 1.1% higher in Daly City |
| Median home value | $1,073,100 | $1,149,600 | 7.1% higher in San Jose |
| Median household income | $114,910 | $136,010 | 18.4% higher in San Jose |
| Groceries index | 108.1 | 105.1 | 2.9% higher in Daly City |
| Utilities index | 168.3 | 153.8 | 9.4% higher in Daly City |
| Transportation index | 106.1 | 100.7 | 5.4% higher in Daly City |
| Healthcare index | 106.0 | 100.6 | 5.4% higher in Daly City |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Daly City, you'd need $102,003 in San Jose to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Daly City, CA is about 2% cheaper overall than San Jose, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 8% higher in San Jose than in Daly City. If you earn $80,000 in Daly City, you'd need about $81,603 in San Jose to keep the same standard of living.