Cost of Living in San Francisco, 🇺🇸 United States - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 3 13 $5,200 $3,950 $6,500 $2,350 $270

Utilities 26 1 — $215 $380 $132 —

Internet & Mobile 8 9 19 22 $45 $115 $210 $115 $8

Groceries 1 16 $180 $720 $1,450 $560 $14

Transportation 5 6 20 $312 $200 $850 $86 $48

Dining Out 25 1 $2,032 $920 $1,250 $279 $125

Leisure Activities 1 4 $480 $420 $3,600 $165 $55

Health Insurance 10 15 $63 $550 $1,400 $420 —

Visa & Legal Fees 14 — $50 $50 — —

Total $8,312 $7,140 $15,690 $4,107 $520

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 3 1 $4,310.00 $2,521 – $4,560 per month

Coworking Space 11 12 $450.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 3 1 $5,800.00 $4,200 – $6,500 per month

Coliving Space 13 $1,550.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 29 1 $6.31 per cup

Beer 36 1 $8.33 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 25 1 $22.60 per meal

Fast Food Combo 28 1 $15.20 per meal

Apples 27 1 $6.55 per kg

Bread 27 1 $5.16 per loaf

Milk 1 16 $1.66 per liter

Rice 27 1 $5.66 per kg

Chicken Fillets 1 16 $15.90 per kg

Beef 27 16 1 $24.36 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 36 1 $18.00 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 37 1 $109.00 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 36 1 $2.97 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 6 7 $4.15 per trip

Taxi per km 6 7 $2.02 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 5 $86.00 per month

Gasoline 17 18 $1.59 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 6 7 1 $14.00 per trip

Scooter Rental 20 $3.85 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 8 9 $45.00 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 1 19 22 $69.80 per month

Gym Membership 1 23 $118.00 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 35 1 $22.86 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 8 $45.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 30 31 1 $18.10 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 1 21 $74.80 per pair

Summer Dress 34 1 $49.55 per dress

Running Shoes 33 1 $110.09 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 32 1 $31.30 per visit

Laundry 38 $1.20 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 1 24 $149.00 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 36 1 $12.00 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hanoi, London

Livingcost SF groceries, meals, rents, utilities Oct 2026Index
Wise SF rent and grocery benchmarks Oct 2026Index
Zumper SF 1-bedroom USD 4,310; median USD 4,560 Oct 2026Listings
SF Bay Area international school tuition bands 2026/27Secondary
SFMTA Muni monthly M pass USD 86 ClipperOfficial
SF taxi USD 4.15 flag; USD 0.65 per 1/5 mileOfficial
SFMTA taxicab rates of fare placard PDFOfficial
T-Mobile prepaid unlimited USD 45/mo with AutoPayOfficial
Visible unlimited USD 25/moOfficial
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
SquareFoot SF desk median USD 560/mo Oct 2026Secondary
Groundfloor Mission open desk USD 450/moListings
Hive Coliving SoMa private room from USD 1,275/moListings
CBP ESTA programme for Visa Waiver travellersOfficial
KFF 2025 employer single premium benchmarkSecondary
USDA ERS whole milk USD 4.106/gal Sept 2026Official
AAA California regular USD 6.0236/gal 25 Oct 2026Index
EIA US regular gasoline weekly series Oct 2026Official
BroadbandNow SF plans from USD 50/mo (AT&T Fiber, Sonic, Xfinity)Secondary
Bay Wheels USD 1 unlock + USD 0.19/min classic bikeOfficial
Target Levi's 501 jeans USD 52.49–74.99Listings
Xfinity broadband entry tiers from USD 45/moOfficial
LA Fitness CA club rate card USD 29.99–44.99/moListings
MDsave new-patient PCP cash prices USD 104–180 (CA listings)Listings
Chipotle Montgomery St burrito bowl USD 12.95+ (SF lunch benchmark)Listings
PG&E residential electric ~USD 431/mo plus water/sewer/trash Oct 2026Secondary
Safeway via Instacart SF grocery shelf prices Oct 2026Listings
McDonald's Big Mac Meal USD 10.49; combo meals USD 9.99–11.19Secondary
Starbucks Caffè Latte USD 5.85; iced latte USD 6.11+Secondary
Regal door price USD 25.49; matinee USD 11.00 (USD theatre list)Secondary
AMC online adult ticket USD 11.99 base plus feesOfficial
Fresha San Francisco men's haircuts from USD 25Listings
Target running shoes USD 40–140 Oct 2026Listings
Target women dresses USD 15–60 Oct 2026Listings
SF Rec & Park court reservation USD 5/hrOfficial
Gopuff Seamless beer, wine, bottled water and OTC retailListings
Tony's Pizza Napoletana North Beach pies USD 24–32+ (mid-range dinner)Listings
Laundryheap SF wash-and-fold USD 2.65/lbListings

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 3650 4310
- Apples 3.25 6.55
- Beef 18 24.36
- Beer 10 8.33
- Bread 5.75 5.16
38 more changes
- Chicken Fillets 11.5 15.9
- Cinema Ticket 19.5 18.1
- Coffee 6.5 6.31
- Coliving Space 2100 1550
- Coworking Space 475 450
- Dining Out local 250, nomad 2100, expat 850, family 1200, tourist 120 local 279, nomad 2032, expat 920, family 1250, tourist 125
- Doctor Visit (GP) 185 149
- Fast Food Combo 15.5 15.2
- Gasoline 5.95 1.59
- Groceries local 550, nomad 250, expat 700, family 1600, tourist 15 local 560, nomad 180, expat 720, family 1450, tourist 14
- Gym Membership 120 118
- Haircut 65 31.3
- Health Insurance local 350, nomad 75, expat 550, family 1400, tourist 0 local 420, nomad 63, expat 550, family 1400, tourist 0
- Housing local 2100, nomad 4200, expat 3100, family 5500, tourist 250 local 2350, nomad 5200, expat 3950, family 6500, tourist 270
- Internet & Mobile local 110, nomad 140, expat 140, family 280, tourist 10 local 115, nomad 45, family 210, tourist 8
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 85 69.8
- Jeans 110 74.8
- Laundry 45 1.2
- Leisure Activities local 150, nomad 450, expat 400, family 800, tourist 50 local 165, nomad 480, expat 420, family 3600, tourist 55
- Meal (Inexpensive) 22 22.6
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 130 109
- Milk 6.25 1.66
- Mobile Plan 75 45
- Monthly Transport Pass 105 86
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 18 12
- Rice 3 5.66
- Ride-hailing (5km) 28 14
- Running Shoes 135 110.09
- Scooter Rental 9.5 3.85
- Summer Dress 65 49.55
- Taxi Start 4.5 4.15
- Taxi per km 1.95 2.02
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 25 22.86
- Transportation local 98, nomad 350, expat 180, family 650, tourist 45 local 86, nomad 312, expat 200, family 850, tourist 48
- Utilities local 160, nomad 0, expat 220, family 450, tourist 0 local 132, nomad 0, expat 215, family 380, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, expat 50, family 100 local 0, expat 50, family 50
- Water (1.5L bottle) 3.5 2.97
- Wine (Mid-range) 22 18
Lint retry — Coffee, Beer, Fast Food Combo, Apples, Bread, Rice, Beef, Wine (Mid-range), Tennis Court (Weekend), Cinema Ticket, Summer Dress, Running Shoes, Utilities, Meal (Mid-range, 2 people), Water (1.5L bottle), Haircut, Laundry, and Pharmacy (basic meds) now cite listing/operator pages (not index-only); Bread and Cinema Ticket estimates removed; Laundry moved to **USD 1.20/kg** from [Laundryheap SF](laundryheap.com).

San Francisco cost of living