An Ultimate Guide To Know About The Cost Of Living In San Francisco, California

Published on:

11 Jun 2020, 8:20 am

San Francisco is recognized as one of the most famous cities in the United States. The climate is mild throughout the year, the scenery is stunning, and the diverse public is there like in any other part of the united states. If you are moving to California, the following info will give you basically how to know about the average prices of various necessities which you will encounter in the city to aid you to calculate the revenue to live in the beautiful town as a professional, an unemployed job-seeker, or as a student. Remember that these are average prices which we have mentioned here.

Rental charges in San Francisco

Rental charges in San Francisco have increased quickly. Data from January 2020 tells that the rent of a single bedroom apartment in San Francisco is about $3,500, whereas the rent of a median across all homes is about $4,300. For an individual who is moving from a less expensive area of the United States, like the Midwest or the South, this amount outright fears or invoke shock. Despite everything, in cities, for instance, Memphis or Cincinnati, a per month amount of $3,500 could provide a comfy home along with a yard, enough money for necessities. After paying for all this still, you will have some pocket money.

The good news is that the cost of rent for the median is $3,500. There are few lavishly wealthy parts of the city where the charges for rents are even exceeding $10,000 per month. However, there are also few areas where the rental costs are far under $3,500

Transportation Costs in San Francisco

Once you can secure an affordable rental place, San Francisco, you have to search a way to move around. Per the US Census Bureau, it takes 32.8 minutes to arrive at your workplace in San Francisco, which is approximately 6 minutes above the national average, which is 26.4-minutes. There is one possibility to improve this time average by having your car, but the cost of this will far higher.

Whereas you can find free parking outside the center of the city quickly, if you are searching for daily access to the parking city center, you have to pay regular parking charges about $27.42, in accordance to the Parkopedia 2017 statistics. For monthly rates of parking, the same study mentions prices around $310.04 in San Francisco.

One more significant expense of owning a car in San Francisco is petrol. For a gallon of gasoline, the average price in San Francisco is $4.20 per gallon during May 2019. This thing makes San Francisco the utmost costly town in California, and ultimately the maximum expensive state of the US due to the high fuel prices.

If you are searching for some affordable options for transportation, definitely the best choice would be public transport. You can purchase a monthly pass cable car service and bus spending just $78, whereas a pass that provides the right to use BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains along with the previous two services within San Francisco expenses $94. Both of these passes are cheap comparing to the transport passes in various other big cities like New York ($116.50) and Chicago ($105.)

Living in San Francisco can be a tough job initially so here's a well-curated guide to help you. Pixabay

Working in San Francisco

A professional living style in San Francisco is costly as compared to living as a student. The good thing is that the wage for professional careers is more significant in San Francisco as compared to any other city in the US. A monthly salary of around $5,000 lets you reside in an average apartment and fulfill necessities every month. In contrast, you will save some money for unexpected costs like dental care or car repairs, etc. or savings. That sums to $60,000/year. With quality education and skills, such works are abundant in this city.

Utility expenses in San Francisco

Utilities are the only expense where residents of San Francisco have to take a break. Bills to city residents are below the national average. It is mainly due to the pleasant weather of the city. Summers are hot, and winters are not unusually cold. The essential utilities, i.e., electricity, heating, cooling, water, trash, etc. of a 915 square foot apartment cost about $154 per month.4 Budget-conscious residents can quickly reduce the amount by using and managing energy-saving bulbs and appliances.

Food prices in San Francisco

The residents of San Francisco pay more for food than any of the other cities in the United States. The average cost of 1 gallon of milk is about $4; a loaf of white bread costs about $3; One dozen eggs costs about $3; boneless skinless chicken breast cost around $6 per pound.

In San Francisco, a typical family spends about $5,200 a year on groceries or about $430 in a month. It is lower than in other metropolitan areas such as San Diego but higher than in Los Angeles.

Life of Student in San Francisco

The bay area has a great attraction for students. Several well-known schools made the region much attractive. There are also dozens of highly paid employers in nearby Silicon Valley, and local universities hire many of them. However, before moving to San Francisco and attending school, we recommend that you know how much money you will need to survive.

Students can save on San Francisco rent by living with their roommates. Sharing the apartment with 3 other students will cut down your share of a 3-bedroom apartment from $6,300 to $2,100.11. The bill will also be a quarter of the cost of living alone. Food is still expensive, and transportation is not an issue because as long as you rent a house a few steps from campus.

A professional living style in San Francisco is costly as compared to living as a student. Pixabay

Job-hunting in San Francisco

From the above information, it is clear that San Francisco is a difficult choice to live if you do not have a steady salary. Although if you are moving to the city with enough saved money, the city's high costs can end up your savings in no time. California offers unemployment aids, a maximum of weekly $1,300 conditional on your salary, which could not reasonably be adequate to escape dipping into reserves.

However, there is good news for job-seekers in this city. The unemployment rate of San Francisco was 2.7%, as of January 2020, approximately 1% below the national rate of unemployment, which is 3.6. Above all, if you have acquired trending and in-demand skills, you will get a job fast in San Francisco. It is recommended that it is a wise decision to have up to 6 months of living expenditures saved up while moving to the city without a proper job. That means nearly $25,000-$30,000 for San Francisco.

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Pros and Cons Living in San Francisco

Pros: