Cost of living comparison

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

San Francisco is 54.8% more expensive than Vancouver.

Restaurants
pay 30.0% more in San Francisco
Groceries
pay 54.3% more in San Francisco
Transportation
pay 21.6% more in San Francisco
Housing
pay 69.3% more in San Francisco
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in San Francisco
Entertainment and Sports
pay 50.9% more in San Francisco
Clothing
pay 6.3% more in San Francisco

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

San Francisco vs. Vancouver Cost Breakdown

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

pay 30.0% more for restaurants

 
Vancouver
San Francisco
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $17.96
CA$24.61
$25.00
 
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.78
CA$14.76
$12.00
 
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.94
CA$2.66
$2.83
 

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pay 54.3% more for groceries

 
Vancouver
San Francisco
Bread
1 loaf
$2.90
CA$3.97
$4.86
 
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.55
CA$8.97
$11.38
 
Milk (1 gallon) $6.81
CA$9.33
$5.98
 

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pay 21.6% more for transportation

 
Vancouver
San Francisco
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.12
CA$7.02
$5.27
 
Monthly public transit pass $100.59
CA$137.80
$98.00
 
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $24,412.64
CA$33,444.10
$36,753.89
 

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pay 69.3% more for housing

 
Vancouver
San Francisco
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$57.25
CA$78.43
$65.19
 
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,033.97
CA$2,786.43
$3,110.17
 
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,688.88
CA$2,313.68
$2,750.00
 

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Vancouver
San Francisco
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,092.52
CA$1,496.69
$2,829.63
 
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,627.02
CA$21,408.24
$38,000.00
 

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pay 50.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Vancouver
San Francisco
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $6.47
CA$8.86
$8.00
 
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.19
CA$5.75
$5.64
 
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$14.37
CA$19.69
$14.00
 

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pay 6.3% more for clothing

 
Vancouver
San Francisco
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$66.41
CA$90.98
$61.43
 
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.77
CA$53.11
$45.08
 
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$95.07
CA$130.24
$104.32
 

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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: July 2025
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