City comparison
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 | New York | San Francisco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,714/mo | $2,316/mo | 26.0% lower in A |
| Median home value | $732,100 | $1,348,700 | 45.7% lower in A |
| Median household income | $76,607 | $136,689 | 44.0% lower in A |
| Groceries index | 103.2 | 58.2 | 77.2% higher in A |
| Utilities index | 147.4 | 62.4 | 136.3% higher in A |
| Transportation index | 100.7 | 59.8 | 68.4% higher in A |
| Healthcare index | 99.9 | 38.9 | 156.8% higher in A |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in New York, you'd need $135,126 in San Francisco to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
New York, NY is about 26% cheaper overall than San Francisco, CA, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 26% lower in New York than in San Francisco. If you earn $80,000 in New York, you'd need about $108,101 in San Francisco to keep the same standard of living.