City comparison
McLean, VA is about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from San Francisco, CA in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 3,100 miles, or about 51 hours (about 5 days at 10 h/day) 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 McLean, VA to San Francisco, CA takes about 4 h 55 min, covering roughly 2,500 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.
McLean, VA is on Eastern Time and San Francisco, CA is on Pacific Time — a 3-hour difference. When it's noon in McLean, it's 9 a.m. in San Francisco, which puts McLean 3 hours ahead.
Standard-time offsets. Daylight saving applies in both cities for most of the year (exceptions: Hawaii and most of Arizona), and the gap between the two stays the same.
San Francisco has a population of 851,036, vs 49,587 in McLean — about 17.2× larger by population. By land area, San Francisco covers about 47 sq mi vs 25 sq mi for McLean.
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 | McLean | San Francisco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,319/mo | $2,316/mo | 43.3% higher in McLean |
| Median home value | $1,257,900 | $1,348,700 | 7.2% higher in San Francisco |
| Median household income | $250,001 | $136,689 | 82.9% higher in McLean |
| Groceries index | 104.3 | 103.9 | ≈ equal (McLean slightly higher) |
| Utilities index | 105.6 | 162.7 | 54.0% higher in San Francisco |
| Transportation index | 102.2 | 102.0 | ≈ equal (McLean slightly higher) |
| Healthcare index | 101.6 | 100.2 | 1.5% higher in McLean |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in McLean, you'd need $114,605 in San Francisco to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
McLean, VA is about 12.7% cheaper overall than San Francisco, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 20% higher in San Francisco than in McLean. If you earn $80,000 in McLean, you'd need about $91,684 in San Francisco to keep the same standard of living.