Cost of living comparison

 Pittsburgh (PA), United States
compared to
 San Francisco (CA), United States
San Francisco vs. Pittsburgh Cost of Living Summary

San Francisco is 42.5% more expensive than Pittsburgh.

Restaurants
pay 19.6% more in San Francisco
Groceries
pay 26.2% more in San Francisco
Transportation
pay 26.9% more in San Francisco
Housing
pay 53.6% more in San Francisco
Childcare
pay 92.9% more in San Francisco
Entertainment and Sports
pay 56.2% more in San Francisco
Clothing
pay 22.4% more in San Francisco

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, groceries, and clothing in San Francisco are more expensive than in Pittsburgh. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Francisco.

San Francisco vs. Pittsburgh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Francisco instead of Pittsburgh, you would:

pay 19.6% more for restaurants

 
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $20.00
 
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
 
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.75
 
$2.83
 

Improve prices ·

pay 26.2% more for groceries

 
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Bread
1 loaf
$3.74
 
$4.86
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.74
 
$11.38
 
Milk (1 gallon) $4.83
 
$5.98
 

Improve prices ·

pay 26.9% more for transportation

 
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.83
 
$5.27
 
Monthly public transit pass $97.50
 
$98.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,500.00
 
$36,753.89
 

Improve prices ·

pay 53.6% more for housing

 
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$68.69
 
$65.19
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,817.27
 
$3,110.17
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,159.00
 
$2,750.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 92.9% more for childcare

 
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,282.50
 
$2,829.63
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $23,000.00
 
$38,000.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 56.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.70
 
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.92
 
$5.64
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.63
 
$14.00
 

Improve prices ·

pay 22.4% more for clothing

 
Pittsburgh
San Francisco
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$45.83
 
$61.43
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$51.20
 
$45.08
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$78.33
 
$104.32
 

Improve prices ·
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025
Share this

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Francisco or Pittsburgh. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.