Cost of Living score
Affordability, essential costs, and day-to-day financial pressure for residents.
Cost of Living in San Francisco50/100
Cost of Living
Cost of Living in San Francisco
San Francisco offers exceptional opportunity access, with housing costs placing heavy pressure on household resilience. Cost of Living in San Francisco scores 50/100, placing it in the early-stage group of the indexed set.
- Last updated
- 2026-05-16
- Data year
- 2025
- Module score
- 50/100
Affordability score
50/100
Lower score driven by globally elevated housing pressure.
Housing pressure
Very high
Long-run demand and supply constraints dominate the cost profile.
Opportunity offset
High
Innovation and research depth raise income potential.
San Francisco cost of living data table
This HTML table mirrors the visible score cards so important comparison data is never trapped in a browser-only chart.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Affordability score | 50/100 | Wages and opportunity offset some pressure. |
| Housing pressure | Very high | Central neighborhoods remain especially competitive. |
| Opportunity offset | High | Transit reach reduces some private mobility costs. |
Cost of Living city comparison
A crawlable comparison across a selection of same-country and top-scoring cities. The complete set is reachable via the rankings, the cities index, and each city profile.
| City | Score | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco (this page) | 50/100 | San Francisco offers exceptional opportunity access, with housing costs placing heavy pressure on household resilience. |
| Detroit | 78/100 | Detroit's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| St. Louis | 78/100 | St. Louis's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Kansas City | 78/100 | Kansas City's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Cleveland | 78/100 | Cleveland's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Memphis | 78/100 | Memphis's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Indianapolis | 77/100 | Indianapolis's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| San Antonio | 77/100 | San Antonio's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Cincinnati | 77/100 | Cincinnati's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Pittsburgh | 76/100 | Pittsburgh's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Columbus | 76/100 | Columbus's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Milwaukee | 76/100 | Milwaukee's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Youngstown | 74/100 | Youngstown's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Shreveport | 74/100 | Shreveport's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Evansville | 74/100 | Evansville's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Fort Smith | 74/100 | Fort Smith's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Amarillo | 74/100 | Amarillo's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Wichita | 74/100 | Wichita's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Madison | 74/100 | Madison's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Peoria | 72/100 | Peoria's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Montgomery | 72/100 | Montgomery's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Columbus | 72/100 | Columbus's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Rockford | 72/100 | Rockford's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Lubbock | 72/100 | Lubbock's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| McAllen | 72/100 | McAllen's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Dallas | 72/100 | Dallas's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Phoenix | 72/100 | Phoenix's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Raleigh | 72/100 | Raleigh's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Orlando | 72/100 | Orlando's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Baltimore | 72/100 | Baltimore's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Fort Wayne | 70/100 | Fort Wayne's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
Interpretation
The cost-of-living model captures the tension between high opportunity density and high housing pressure. San Francisco shows this tradeoff sharply. Across the indexed cities the cost of living average is 63/100, so San Francisco is 13 points below the median. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 3 institutional references.
Read this module with the main open the san francisco city profile and the read the scoring methodology page so single-topic pages do not hide tradeoffs across dimensions.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Sources
3 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
- UN-Habitat: World Cities Report 2024
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
- IPCC: AR6 WGII Chapter 6: Cities, settlements and key infrastructure
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.
- Numbeo: Cost of Living Index
Used for directional affordability framing alongside official housing and price datasets.
Continue exploring
These links connect module pages back to city, ranking, and sibling topic paths with crawlable href values.
San Francisco city profile
Return to the complete San Francisco profile with all module scores and source context.
Air Quality in San Francisco
Health-oriented air-quality conditions with context from WHO, EEA, and EPA benchmarks.
Energy in San Francisco
Clean-energy readiness, grid resilience, and solar or efficiency opportunity signals.
Safety in San Francisco
Personal safety, institutional trust, and resilience signals informed by international safety and crime data.
Internet Speed in San Francisco
Broadband and mobile connectivity quality, latency, and digital-readiness signals for residents and remote workers.
Climate Risk in San Francisco
Climate exposure, hazard frequency, and adaptation context for floods, heat, storms, and wildfires.
Overall Intelligence
A balanced ranking of cities across affordability, air quality, clean-energy readiness, and resilience.
Quality of Life
Cities that combine strong services, mobility, safety, clean air, and resilience into a healthy day-to-day profile.